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THE STUDENTS' SERIES 

t 

OF 

STANDARD POKTRY. 

Edited by W. J. ROLFE, A.M. 

I. SCOTT'S LADY OF THE LAKE. 

The text is correctly printed for the first time in fifty years. The notes (eighty- 
eight pages) include Scott's and Lockhart's, and are fuller tnan in any other edition, 
English or American. The ilhistrations are mamly of the scenery of the poem. 

II. TENNYSON'S THE PRINCESS. 

The text is more accurc'ely printed than in any other edition. Tlie notes (fifty 
pages) give the history of the poem, «// the r; -.dings of the earlier editions, selected 
comments by the best English and American critics, full explanation of all the allu- 
sions, etc. The iltnstj-atioiis are from Ticknor's holiday edition. 

III. SELECT POEMS OF TENNYSON. 

The Poet, Lady of Shalott, CEnone, The Lotus-Eaters, The Palace of Art, A 
Dream of Fair Women, Morte d' Arthur, Ulysses, Locksley Hall, Sir Galahad, etc. 
The text is from the latest English edition (1884). The notes (fifty pages) include a 
careful collation of the early editions, v ith explanatory and critical comments, original 
and selected. The illustratiois are of high character. 

^ IV. SCOTT'S MARMION. 

With copious and carefullj' prepared notes and fine illustrations. 

' V. BYRON'S CHILDE HAROLD. 

With thorough and co:nprehensive notes and commentaries, greatly aiding in the 
comprehension of this great poem. 

VL YOUNG PEOPLE'S TENNYSON. 

A selection of the poems most liked by, and adapted to, young persons, -ivith notes 
and commentaries. 

"^VII. SCOTT'S THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 

A careful editing and annotation of this great Border poem, with copious illustra- 
tions from the rich holiday octavo edition of 1886-7. 

S;^ All these books are equally suited to the use of the student in school or 
college, and that of the general reader. They should have a place in every library. 
75 cents each. 

Senty post-paid, on receipt of price, by the publishers^ 

TICKNOR AND COMPANY, Boston. 



y 




She .sazed upon the inner court, 

Which in the towers tall shadow lay (v. 170). 



THE LAY 



OF 



THE LAST MINSTREL 



SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART. 



Edited with Notes 



BY 



WILLIAM J. ROLFE, A.M. 

FORMERLY HEAD MASTER OF THE HIGH SCHOOL, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 



IV/TI/ ILLUSTRATIONS 




BOSTON 

TICKNOR AND COMPANY 

i88; 



TK 



By Ticknor and Company, 



All ris^-lifs rescrz'ed. 



John Wilson and Son, Camukidgu. 



7f^/ 



PREFACE. 



The Lay is here edited on the same plan as its predecessors, the 
Lady of the Lake Tnwdi Mantiion ; and, as in those, the illustrations are 
from the publishers' holiday edition of the poem. 

The text has been carefully compared with that of the earliest 
editions I have been able to consult — including the 9th (quarto), the 
loth (octavo), that of 1821, and several issues of Lockhart's. The cor- 
ruptions I have detected are few and unimportant, compared with 
those in the Lady of the Lake and Marmion. The readings of the ist 
edition I have had to take from Lockhart, who I hope may be more 
trustworthy in this case than I have found him in others. If I am ever 
so fortunate as to get hold of a copy of the ist edition, I shall compare it 
with the later texts, and, if necessary, revise the notes referring to it. 

T have given all of Scott's own notes in full — correcting sundry 
misprints and corruptions that appear in all the recent reprints — and 
most of Lockhart's. Of other editions, I have been most indebted to 
Professor Minto's, as the extracts credited to liim will show. T have 
also taken an occasional note from Mr. J. S. Phillj)otts's school edition. 
As usual, I have found the commentaries "good except on difficult 
passages," and have done my best to supply the deficiency. 

The proof-readers of the University Press are exceedingly keen-eyed 
and critical, but neither they nor I can lay claim to infallibility. If wc 
have overlooked any errors of the type, I shall be very grateful to the 
reader who will kindly send me a memorandum of such as he may 
detect. 

Cambridge, Dec. 21, 1886. 














'.<:< 








Thus, starting oft, he journeyed on, 
And deeper in the wood is gone (iii. 177). 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL ii 

Lntroduction II 

Canto First 15 

" Second 29 

" Third 47 

" Fourth 64 

" Fifth 88 

" Sixth 107 

Notes 131 




Taper and liost and book they bare, 
And holy banner, nourished fair 
With the Redeemer's name (vi. 519). 



THE LAY 



OF 



THE LAST MINSTREL. 



Diim relego, scripsisse piidet ; quia plurima cerno, 
Me quoqiie qui feci judice, digna lini. 




BRANKSOME. 




TH E LAY 



OF 



THE LAS T M I N S T R E I 



INTRODUCTION. 



The way was long, the wind was cold, 
The Minstrel was infirm and old ; 
His withered cheek and tresses gray 
Seemed to have known a better day ; 
The harp, his sole remaining joy, 
Was carried by an orphan boy. 



1 2 IN TROD UC 710 AT. 

The last of all the bards was he, •* 

Who sung of Border chivalry ; 

For, well-a-day ! their date was fled, 

His tuneful brethren all were dead ; lo 

And he, neglected and oppressed, 

Wished to be with them and at rest. 

No more on prancing palfrey borne. 

He carolled, light as lark at morn ; 

No longer courted and caressed, 

High placed in hall, a welcome guest, 

He poured, to lord and lady gay. 

The unpremeditated lay : 

Old times were changed, old manners gone ; 

A stranger filled the Stuarts' throne ; 20 

The bigots of the iron time 

Had called his harmless art a crime. 

A wandering harper, scorned and poor. 

He begged his bread from door to door. 

And tuned, to please a peasant's ear. 

The harp a king had loved to hear. 

He passed where Newark's stately tower 

Looks out from Yarrow's birchen bower : 

The Minstrel gazed with wishful eye — 

No humbler resting-place was nigh. 30 

With hesitating step at last 

The embattled portal arch he passed. 

Whose ponderous grate and massy bar 

Had oft rolled back the tide of war, 

But never closed the iron door 

Against the desolate and poor. 

The Duchess marked his weary pace, 

His timid mien, and reverend face. 

And bade her page the menials tell 

That they should tend the old man well : 40 



IN TROD UC TION. 1 3 

For she had known adversity, 
Though born in such a high degree ; 
In pride of power, in beauty's l)loom, 
Had wept o'er Monmouth's bloody tomb ! 

When kindness had his wants suppHed, 

And the old man was gratified. 

Began to rise his minstrel pride ; 

And he began to talk anon 

Of good Earl Francis, dead and gone. 

And of Earl Walter, rest him God ! 50 

A braver ne'er to l)attle rode ; 

And how full many a tale he knew 

Of the old warriors of Buccleuch : 

And, would the noble Duchess deign 

To listen to an old man's strain, 

Though stiff his hand, his voice though weak, 

He thought even yet, the sooth to speak, 

That, if she loved the harp to hear, 

He could make music to her ear. 

The humble boon was soon obtained ; 60 

The aged Minstrel audience gained. 

But when he reached the room of state 

Where she with all her ladies sate, 

Perchance he wished his boon denied : 

For, when to tune his harp he tried, 

His trembling hand had lost the ease 

Which marks security to please ; 

And scenes, long past, of joy and pain . 

Came wildering o'er his aged brain — 

He tried to tune his harp in vain. 70 

The pitying Duchess praised its chime, 

And ga\e him heart, and gave him time. 

Till every string's according glee 

Was blended into harmony. 



14 



IN TROD UCTION. 



And then, he said, he would full fain 

He could recall an ancient strain 

He never thought to sinii; again. 

It was not framed for village churls, 

But for high dames and mighty earls ; 

He had played it to King Charles the Good 

When he kept court in Holyrood ; 

And much he wished, yet feared, to try 

The long-forgotten melody. 

Amid the strings his fingers stra)^ed, 

And an uncertain warblinsf made. 

And oft he shook his hoary head. 

But when he caught the measure wild, 

The old man raised his face and smiled ; . 

And lightened up his foded eye 

With all a poet's ecstasy ! 

In varying cadence, soft or strong, 

He swept the sounding chords along : 

The present scene, the future lot, 

His toils, his wants, were all forgot ; 

Cold diffidence and age's frost 

In the full tide of song were lost ; 

Each blank, in faithless memory void, 

The poet's glowing thought supplied ; 

And, while his harp responsive rung, 

'T was thus the Latest Minstrel sung. 



80 



90 





NAWORTH CASTLE. 

CANTO FIRST. 

I. 

The feast was over in Branksome tower, 

And the Laclye had gone to her secret bower, 

Her bower that was guarded by word and by spell. 

Deadly to hear, and deadly to tell — 

Jesu Maria, shield us well ! 

No living wight, save the Ladye alone, 

Had dared to cross the threshold stone. 



II. 



The tables were drawn, it was idlesse all ; 

Knight and page and household squire 
Loitered through the lofty hall, 

Or crowded round the ample fire : 



l6 LAV OF THE LAST M/XSTKEL. canto i. 

The stag-hounds, weary with the chase, 

Lay stretched \\\\ov\ the rushy tloor, 
And urged in dreams the forest race. 

From Teviot-stone to Eskdale-moor. 

III. 
Nine-and-twenty knights o{ lame 

Hung their shiekis in Branksome Hall ; 
Nine-and-twenty squires of name 

Broui^ht them their steeds to bower from stall ; 

Nine-and-twenty yeomen tall 20 

Waited duteous on them all : 

They were all knights of mettle true, 

Kinsmen to the bold Buccleuch. 

IV. 

Ten of them were sheathed in steel. 
With belted sword and spur on heel ; 
They quitted not their harness bright, 
Neither by day nor yet by night : 

They la)- down to rest, 

With corselet laced, 
Pillowed on buckler cold and hard ; 30 

They car\ ed at the meal 

With gloves of steel. 
And thev drank the red wine through the helmet barred. 

V. 

Ten squires, ten yeomen, mail-clad men, 

Waited the beck of the warders ten ; 

Thirty steeds, both fleet and wight. 

Stood saddled in stable day and night, 

Barded with frontlet of steel, I trow. 

And with Jed wood-axe at saddle-bow ; 

A hundred more fed free in stall : — 40 

Such was the custom of Branksome Hall. 



,/, 



CANTO I. LAY OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. 17 

VI. 

Why do these steeds stand ready dight ? 

Why watch these warriors armed by night? 

They watch to hear the bloodhound baying ; 

They watch to hear the war- horn braying ; 

To see Saint George's red cross streaming, 

To see the midnight beacon gleaming ; 

They watch against Southern force and guile, 
Lest Scroop or Howard or Percy's powers 
Threaten Branksome's lordly towers, 50 

From Warkworth or Naworth or merry Carlisle. 

vir. 

Such is the custom of Branksome Hall. 

Many a valiant knight is here ; 
But he, the chieftain of them all, 
His sword hangs rusting on the wall 

Beside his broken spear. 
Bards long shall tell 
How Lord Walter fell ! 
When startled burghers fled afar 
The furies of the Border war, 
When the streets of high Dunedin 
Saw lances gleam and falchions redden. 
And heard the slogan's deadly yell, — 
Then the Chief of Branksome fell. 

VIII. 

Can piety the discord heal, 

Or stanch the death-feud's enmity? 
Can Christian lore, can patriot zeal. 

Can love of blessed charity ? 
No ! vainly to each holy shrine 

In mutual pilgrimage they drew, 70 



60 



1 8 LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto i. 

Implored in vain the grace divine 

For chiefs their own red folchions slew. 

While C'cssford owns the rule of Carr, 
While I^ttrick boasts the line of Scott, 

The slaughtered chiefs, the mortal jar, 

The ha\'OC of the feudal war, 
Shall never, ne\-er be forgot ! 

TX. 

In sorrow o'er Lord Walter's bier 

The warlike foresters had bent, 
And many a flower and many a tear 80 

Old Teviot's maids and matrons lent ; 
But o'er her warrior's bloody bier 
The Ladye dropped nor flower nor tear ! 
Vengeance, deep-brooding o'er the slain, 

Had locked the source of softer woe, 
And burning pride and high disdain 

Forbade the rising tear to flow ; 
Until, amid his sorrowing clan, 

Her son lisped from the nurse's knee, 
* And if I live to be a man, 90 

;My father's death revenged shall be ! ' 
Then fast the mother's tears did seek 
To dew the infant's kindling cheek. 

X. 

All loose her negligent attire, 

All loose her golden hair, 
Hunir Mara;aret o'er her slaughtered sire 

And wept in wild desi)air. 
But not alone the bitter tear 

Had filial grief supplied. 
For hopeless love and anxious fear ' 100 

Had lent their mingled tide \ 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 1 9 

Nor in her mother's altered eye 
Dared she to look for sympathy. 
Her lover 'gainst her father's clan 

With Carr in arms had stood, 
When Mathouse-burn to Melrose ran 

All purple with their blood ; 
And well she knew her mother dread, 
Before Lord Cranstoun she should wed, 
Would see her on her dying bed. no 

XI. 

Of noble race the Ladye came ; 
Her father was a clerk of fame, 

Of Bethune's line of Picardie : 
He learned the art that none may name 

In Padua, far beyond the sea. 
Men said he changed his mortal frame 

By feat of magic mystery ; 
For when in studious mood he paced 

Saint Andrew's cloistered hall, 
His form no darkening shadow traced lao 

Upon the sunny wall ! 

XII. 

And of his skill, as bards avow, 

He taught that Ladye fair, 
Till to her bidding she could bow 

The viewless forms of air. 
And now she sits in secret bower. 
In old Lord David's western tower, 
And listens to a heavy sound 
That moans the mossy turrets round. 
Is it the roar of Teviot's tide, 130 

That chafes against the scaur's red side ? 



20 LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. CANTO I. 

Is it the wind, that swings the oaks? 

Is it the echo from the rocks ? 

What may it be, the heavy sound, 

That moans old Branksome's turrets round? 

XIII. 

At the sullen, moaning sound 

The ban-dogs bay and howl, 
And from the turrets round 

Loud whoops the startled owl. 
In the hall, both squire and knight mo 

Swore that a storm was near, 
And looked forth to ^•iew the night j 

But the night was still and clear ! 

XIV. 

From the sound of Teviot's tide, 
Chafing with the mountain's side. 
From the groan of the wind- swung oak. 
From the sullen echo of the rock, 
From the voice of the coming storm. 

The Ladye knew it well ! 
It was the Spirit of the Flood that spoke, 150 

And he called on the Spirit of the Fell. 

XV. 
RIVER SPIRIT. 

' Sleep'st thou, brother ? ' 

MOUNTAIN SPIRIT. 

' Brother, nay — 
On my hills the moonbeams play. 
From Craik-cross to Skelfhill-pen, 
By every rill, in every glen, 



CANTO 1. LA Y OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. 



21 



%,^Ji 




Merry elves their morris pacing, 

To aerial minstrelsy, 
Emerald rings on brown heath tracing. 

Trip it deft and merrily. 
Up, and mark their nimble feet ! 
Up, and hst their music sweet ! ' 



i6o 



XVI. 



RIVER SPIRIT. 



' Tears of an imprisoned maiden 
Mix with my polluted stream ; 

Margaret of Branksome, sorrow-laden, 
Mourns beneath the moon's pale beam. 

Tell me, thou who view'st the stars, 

When shall cease these feudal jars ? 

What shall be the maiden's fate? 

Who shall be the maiden's mate? ' 



170 



2 2 LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto i. 



XVII. 
INIOUNTAIN SPIRIT. 

* Arthur's slow wain his course doth roll 
In utter darkness round the pole ; 
The Northern Bear lowers black and grim. 
Orion's studded belt is dim ; 
Twinkling faint, and distant far, 
Shimmers through mist each planet star ; 

111 may I read their high decree : 
But no kind influence deign they shower 
On Teviot's tide and Branksome's tower 

Till pride be quelled and love be free.' 



XVIII. 

The unearthly voices ceased, 180 

And the heavy sound was still ; 
It died on the river's breast, 

It died on the side of the hill. 
But round Lord David's tower 

The sound still floated near ; 
For it rung in the Ladye's bower, 

And it rung in the Ladye's ear. 
She raised her stately head. 

And her heart throbbed high with pride : 
' Your mountains shall bend 190 

And your streams ascend, 

Ere Margaret be our foeman's bride ! ' 

XIX. 

The Ladye sought the lofty hall, 

Where many a bold retainer lay, 
And witli jocund din among them all 

Her son pursued his infant play. 



LA V OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 23 

A fancied moss-trooper, the boy 

The truncheon of a spear bestrode, 
And round the hall right merrily 

In mimic foray rode. 200 

Even bearded knights, in arms grown old, 

Share in his frolic gambols bore, 
Albeit their hearts of rugged mould 

Were stubborn as the steel they wore. 
P'or the gray warriors prophesied 

How the brave boy in future war 
Should tame the Unicorn's pride, 

Exalt the Crescents and the Star. 

XX. 

The Ladye forgot her purpose high 

One moment and no more, 210 

One moment gazed with a mother's eye 

As she paused at the arched door ; 
Then from amid the armed train 
She called to her William of Deloraine. 

XXI. 

A stark moss-trooping Scott was he 

As e'er couched Border lance by knee : 

Through Solway Sands, through Tarras Moss. 

Blindfold he knew the paths to cross ; 

By wily turns, by desperate bounds. 

Had baffled Percy's best bloodhounds ; 22c 

In Eske or Liddel fords were none 

But he would ride them, one by one ; 

Alike to him was time or tide, 

December's snow or July's pride ; 

Alike to him was tide or time. 

Moonless midnight or matin prime : 



24 LA V OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. canto i. 

Steady of heart and stout of hand 

As ever drove prey from Cumberland ; 

Five times outlawed had he been 

By England's king and Scotland's queen. 230 

XXII. 

^ Sir William of Deloraine, good at need, 
Mount thee on the wightest steed ; 
Spare not to spur nor stint to ride 
Until thou come to fair Tweedside ; 
And in Melrose's holy pile 
Seek thou the Monk of Saint Mary's aisle. 
Greet the father well from me ; 

Say that the fated hour is come, 
And to-night he shall watch with thee. 

To win the treasure of the tomb : 240 

For this will be Saint Michael's night, 
And though stars be dim the moon is bright. 
And the cross of bloody red 
Will point to the grave of the mighty dead. 

XXIII. 

' What he gives thee, see thou keep ; 

Stay not thou for food or sleep : 

Be it scroll or be it book. 

Into it, knight, thou must not look ; 

If thou readest, thou art lorn ! 

Better hadst thou ne'er been born ! ' 250 

XXIV. 

' O swiftly can speed my dapple -gray steed, 

Which drinks of the Teviot clear; 
Ere break of day,' the warrior gan say, > 

' Again will I be here : 



CANTO I. 



LA V OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



25 




And safer by none may thy errand be done 

Than, noble dame, by me ; 
Letter nor hne know I never one, 

Were 't my neck-verse at Hairibee.' 



XXV. 

Soon in his saddle sate he fast. 

And soon the steep descent he passed, 260 

Soon crossed the sounding barbican. 

And soon the Teviot side he won. 

Eastward the wooded path he rode, 

Green hazels o'er his basnet nod ; 

He passed the Peel of Goldiland, 

And crossed old Borthwick's roaring strand ; 

Dimly he vie\Ved the Moat-hill's mound. 

Where Druid shades still flitted round : 

In Hawick twinkled many a light ; 

Behind him soon they set in night ; 270 

And soon he spurred his courser keen 

Beneath the tower of Hazeldean. 



a6 /./)• OJ-' THE LAST MIXSTREL. camo i. 



xxvi. 

The clatteriiii; hoots the watihinon UKuk : 

• Stand, lio ! thou courier of the dark.' 

* For Hranksouie. ho ! ' the knight rojoincd. 
And lot't tlio hiondly tower behind. 

\\<^ turnod him now tVoni Ton iolsido. 

And. i^uidod bv the tinkh'n^ rill. 
Northward the dark ascent did rido. 

And gainoil the moor at Horsoliohill ; aSo 

Broad on the lot't hctoro him lay 
For many a mile the Roman way. 

wvu. 

A moment now he slacked his speed, 

A moment breathed his panting steed, 

Drew saddle-girth and corselet-band. 

And loosened in the sheath his brand. 

On Minto-crags the moonbeanis glint, 

\M'iere l^arnhill hewed his bed ot" (lint. 

Who tlung his outlawed limbs to rest 

^^'here falcons hang their giddy nest -vx> 

Mid clilTs tVom whence his eagle eye 

For many a league his prey coukl spy : 

ClitTs doubling, on their echoes borne. 

The terrors of the robber's horn ; 

Clifts which tor manv a later year 

The warbling Doric reed shall hear. 

\\'hen some sad swain shall teach the gTo\ e 

Ambition is no cure for love. 

xxviii. 

l"'nchallenged. thence passed Deloraine 
To ancient Riddel's tair domain. 3»:» 

Where Aill, from mountains tVeed, 



CANTO I. /.AV OJ' 'JJ//: r.AST M/NS'/'A'J:/.. 27 

iJown froiD the lakes did raving f,orne ; 
Kach wave was crested with tawny foam, 

I>ike the mane of a chestnut steed. 
In vain ! no torrent, rleep or Ijroarl, 
Might bar the bold moss-trooper's road. 



XXIX. 

At the first plunge the horse sunk low. 

And the water broke o'er the saddle-bow : 

Above the foaming tide, I ween, 

Scarce half the charger's neck was seen ; 

For he was barded from counter to tail, 

And the rider was armed complete in mail ; 

Never heavier man and horse 

Stemmed a midnight torrent's force. 

'J'he warrior's very plume, I say, 

Was daggled by the dashing spray ; 

Yet, through good heart and Our Ladye's grace. 

At length he gained the landing-place. 



3"^ 



XXX. 



Now Bowden Moor the march-man won, 

And sternly shook his plumed head, 320 

As glanced his eye o'er Halidon ; 
For on his soul the slaughter red 

Of that unhallowed morn arose, 

When first the Scott and Carr were foes ; 

When royal James behelrl the fray. 

Prize to the victor of the day ; 

When Home and Douglas in the van 

Bore down Bucdeuch's retiring clan, 

Till gallant Cessford's heart-blood dear 

Reeked on dark ICUiot's liorder spear. 330 



28 LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto 1. 

XXXI. 

In bitter mood he spurred fast, 

And soon the hated heath was past ; 

And far beneath, in histre wan, 

Old Meh-os' rose and fair Tweed ran : 

Like some tall rock with lichens gray, 

Seemed, dimly huge, the dark Abbaye. 

When Hawick he passed had curfew rung, 

Now midnight lauds were in Melrose sung. 

The sound upon the fitful gale 

In solemn wise did rise and fail, 340 

Like that wild harp whose magic tone 

Is wakened by the winds alone. 

But when Melrose he reached 't was silence all ; 

He meetly stabled his steed in stall, 

And sought the convent's lonely wall. 



Here paused the harp ; and with its swell 

The Master's fire and courage fell : 

Dejectedly and low he bowed, 

And, gazing timid on the crowd. 

He seemed to seek in every eye 350 

If they approved his minstrelsy ; 

And, diffident of present praise, 

Somewhat he spoke of former days, 

And how old age and wandering long 

Had done his hand and harp some wrong. 

The Duchess, and her daughters fair, 

And every gentle lady there, 

Each after each, in due degree, 

Gave praises to his melody ; 

His hand was true, his voice was clear, 360 

And much they longed the rest to hear. 

Encouraged thus, the aged man 

After meet rest again began. 




MELROSE ABBEY. 



CANTO SECOND. 



T. 

If thou wouldst view fair Melrose aright, 
Go visit it by the pale moonlight ; 
For the gay beams of lightsome day 
Gild but to flout the ruins gray. 
When the broken arches are black in night, 
And each shafted oriel glimmers white ; 
When the cold light's uncertain shower 
Streams on the ruined central tower ; 
When buttress and buttress, alternately, 
Seem framed of ebon and ivory ; 



30 LA Y OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. canto ii. 

When silver edges the imagery, 

And the scrolls that teach thee to live and die ; 

When distant Tweed is heard to rave, 

And the owlet to hoot o'er the dead man's grave, 

Then go — but go alone the while — 

Then view Saint David's ruined pile ; 

And, home returning, soothly swear 

Was never scene so sad and fair ! 

II. 

Short halt did Deloraine make there ; 

Little recked he of the scene so fair : 20 

With dagger's hilt on the wicket strong 

He struck full loud, and struck full long. 

The porter hurried to the gate : 

'■ Who knocks so loud, and knocks so late ? ' 

* From Branksome I,' the warrior cried ; 

And straight the wicket opened wide : 

For Branksome's chiefs had in battle stood 

To fence the rights of fair Melrose ; 
And lands and livings, many a rood, 

Had gifted the shrine for their souls' repose. 30 

III. 

Bold Deloraine his errand said ; 

The porter bent his humble head ; 

With torch in hand, and feet unshod, 

And noiseless step, the path he trod : 

The arched cloister, far and wide. 

Rang to the warrior's clanking stride, 

Till, stooping low his lofty crest. 

He entered the cell of the ancient priest. 

And lifted his barred aventayle 

To hail the Monk of Saint Mary's aisle. 4° 



CANTO II. LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 31 

IV. 

' The Ladye of Branksome greets thee by me, 

Says that the fated hour is come, 
And that to-night I shall watch with thee, 

To win the treasure of the tomb.' 
From sackcloth couch the monk arose, 

With toil his stiffened limbs he reared ; 
A hundred years had flung their snows 

On his thin locks and floating beard. 

V. 

And strangely on the knight looked he, 

And his blue eyes gleamed wild and wide : 50 

'And darest thou, warrior, seek to see 

What heaven and hell alike would hide ? 
My breast in belt of iron pent, 

With shirt of hair and scourge of thorn. 
For threescore years, in penance spent, 

My knees those flinty stones have worn ; 
Yet all too little to atone 
For knowing what should ne'er be known. 
Wouldst thou thy every future year 

In ceaseless prayer and penance drie, 60 

Yet wait thy latter end with fear — 

Then, daring warrior, follow me ! ' 

VI. 

' Penance, father, will I none ; 

Prayer know I hardly one ; 

For mass or prayer can I rarely tarry, 

Save to patter an Ave Mary, 

When I ride on a Border foray. 

Other i^rayer can I none ; 

So speed me my errand, and let me begone.' 



32 LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto ii. 

VII. 

Again on the knight looked the churchman old, 70 

And again he sighed heavily ; 
For he had himself been a warrior bold, 

And fought in Spain and Italy. 
And he thought on the days that were long since by, 
When his limbs were strong and his courage was high : 
Now, slow and faint, he led the way 
Where, cloistered round, the garden lay ; 
The pillared arches were over their head, 
And beneath their feet were the bones of the dead. 

VIII. 

Spreading herbs and flowerets bright 80 

Glistened with the dew of night ; 

Nor herb nor floweret glistened there 

But was carved in the cloister-arches as fair. 

The monk gazed long on the lovely moon, 

Then into the night he looked forth ; 
And red and bright the streamers light 

Were dancing in the glowing north. 
So had he seen, in fair Castile, 

The youth in glittering squadrons start, 
Sudden the flying jennet wheel, 90 

And hurl the unexpected dart. 
He knew, by the streamers that shot so bright. 
That spirits were riding the northern light. 

IX. 

By a steel-clenched postern door 

They entered now the chancel tall ; 
The darkened roof rose high aloof 

On pillars lofty and light and small : 



CANTO II. LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 

\ 



ZZ 




^v^. ■ ^ 



LIDDESDALE. 



The keystone that locked each ribbed aisle 

Was a fleur-de-lys or a quatre-feuille ; 

The corbels were carved grotesque and grim ; 

And the pillars, with clustered shafts so trim, 

With base and with capital flourished around, 

Seemed bundles of lances which garlands had bound. 



X. 

Full many a scutcheon and banner riven 
Shook to the cold night-wind of heaven. 

Around the screened altar's pale ; 
x\nd there the dying lamps did burn 
Before thy low and lonely urn, 
O gallant Chief of Otterburne ! 

And thine, dark Knight of Liddesdale 1 
O fading honors of the dead ! 
O high ambition lowly laid ! 

XL 

The moon on the east oriel shone 
Through slender shafts of shapely stone, 



34 LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto ii. 

By foliaged tracery combined ; 
Thou wouldst have thought some fairy's hand 
'Tvvixt poplars straight the osier wand 

In many a freakish knot had twined, 
Then framed a spell when the work was done, 
And changed the willow wreaths to stone. 120 

The silver light, so pale and faint. 
Showed many a prophet and many a saint. 

Whose image on the glass was dyed ; 
Full in the midst, his cross of red 
Triumphant Michael brandished. 

And trampled the Apostate's pride. 
The moonbeam kissed the holy pane. 
And threw on the pavement a bloody stain. 

XII. 

They sate them down on a marble stone — 

A Scottish monarch slept below ; 130 

Thus spoke the monk in solemn tone : 

' I was not always a man of woe ; 
For Paynim countries I have trod, 
And fought beneath the Cross of God : 
Now, strange to my eyes thine arms appear, 
And their iron clang sounds strange to my eaj-. 

XIII. 

' In these far climes it was my lot 

To meet the wondrous Michael Scott ; 

A wizard of such dreaded fame 
That when, in Salamanca's cave, 140 

Him listed his magic wand to wave, 

The bells would ring in Notre Dame ! 
Some of his skill he taught to me ; 
And, warrior, I could say to thee 
The words that cleft Eildon Hills in three, 



CANTO II. 



LA V OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



35 




EILDON HILLS. 



And bridled the Tweed with a curb of stone : 
But to speak them were a deadly sin, 
And for having but thought them my heart within 

A treble penance must be done. 



XIV. 

' When Michael lay on his dying bed, 

His conscience was awakened ; 

He bethought him of his sinful deed, 

And he gave me a sign to come with speed : 

I was in Spain when the morning rose. 

But I stood by his bed ere evening close. 

The words may not again be said 

That he spoke to me, on death-bed laid ; 

They would rend this Abbaye's massy nave, 

And pile it in heaps above his grave. 



'5° 



36 LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto ii. 



XV. 

* I swore to bury his Mighty Book, i6o 

That never mortal might therein look ; 

And never to tell where it was hid, 

Save at his Chief of Branksome's need ; 

And when that need was past and o'er. 

Again the volume to restore. 

I buried him on Saint Michael's night, ' 

When the bell tolled one and the moon was bright, 

And I dug his chamber among the dead. 

When the floor of the chancel was stained red, 

That his patron's cross might over him wave, 170 

And scare the fiends from the wizard's grave. 

XVI. 

' It was a night of woe and dread 

When Michael in the tomb I laid ; 

Strange sounds along the chancel passed, 

The banners waved without a blast ' — 

Still spoke the monk, when the bell tolled one ! — 

I tell you, that a braver man 

Than William of Deloraine, good at need, 

Against a foe ne'er spurred a steed ; 

Yet somewhat was he chilled with dread, 180 

And his hair did bristle upon his head. 

XVII. 

' Lo, warrior ! now, the cross of red 
Points to the grave of the mighty dead : 
W^ithin it burns a wondrous light. 
To chase the spirits that love the night ; 
That lamp shall burn unquenchably, 
Until the eternal doom shall be.' 



CANTO II. LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



37 




Slow moved the monk to the broad flagstone 

Which the bloody cross was traced upon : 

He pointed to a secret nook ; 

An iron bar the warrior took ; 

And the monk made a sign with his withered hand, 

The grave's huge portal to expand. 



190 



XVIII. 

With beating heart to the task he went, 

His sinewy frame o'er the gravestone bent. 

With bar of iron heaved amain 

Till the toil-drops fell from his brows like rain. 

It was by dint of passing strength 

That he moved the massy stone at length. 

I would you had been there to see 

How the light broke forth so gloriously, 



aoo 



38 LAV OF THE LAST MLXSTREL. canto ir. 

Streamed upward to the chancel roof, 

And through the galleries far aloof ! 
No earthly (lame blazed e'er so bright ; 
It shone like heaven's own blessed light, 

And, issuing from the tomb, 
Showed the monk's cowl and visage pale, 
Danced on the dark-browed warrior's mail. 

And kissed his waving plume. 

XIX. 

Before their eyes the wizard lay, 210 

As if he had not been dead a day. 

His hoary beard in silver rolled. 

He seemed some seventy winters old ; 

A palmer's amice wrapped him round, 

With a wrought Spanish baldric bound, 

Like a pilgrim from beyond the sea : 
His left hand held his Book of Might, 
A silver cross was in his right ; 

The lamp was placed beside his knee. 
High and majestic was his look, 220 

At which the fellest fiends had shook, 
And all unrufiled was his face : 
They trusted his soul had gotten grace. 

XX. 

Often had William of Deloraine 

Rode through the battle's bloody plain, 

And trami')lcd down the warriors slain, 

And neither known remorse nor awe. 
Yet now remorse and awe he owned ; 
His breath came thick, his head swam round, 

When this strange scene of death he saw. 230 

Bewildered and unner\'ed he stood, 



CANTO II. LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 39 

And the priest prayed fervently and loud : 
With eyes averted prayed he ; 
He might not endure the sight to see 
Of the man he had loved so brotherly. 

XXI. 

And when the priest his death-prayer had prayed, 

Thus unto Deloraine he said : 

' Now, speed thee what thou hast to do, 

Or, warrior, we may dearly rue ; 

For those thou mayst not look upon 240 

Are gathering fast round the yawning stone ! ' 

Then Deloraine in terror took 

From the cold hand the Mighty Book, 

With iron clasped and with iron bound : 

He thought, as he took it, the dead man frowned ; 

But the glare of the sepulchral light 

Perchance had dazzled the warrior's sight. 

XXII. 

When the huge stone sunk o'er the tomb, 

The night returned in double gloom. 

For the moon had gone down and the stars were few ; 250 

And as the knight and priest withdrew, 

With wavering steps and dizzy brain. 

They hardly might the postern gain. 

'T is said, as through the aisles they passed, 

They heard strange noises on the blast ; 

And through the cloister-galleries small, 

Which at mid-height thread the chancel wall, 

Loud sobs, and laughter louder, ran. 

And voices unlike the voice of man. 

As if the fiends kept holiday 260 

Because these spells were brought to day. 

I cannot tell how the truth may be ; 

I say the tale as 't was said to me. 



40 L'iy OF THE LAST MLVS7'REL. canto ii. 



XXllI. 

*Now, hie thee hence,' the father said, 

* And when we are on death-bed laiti, 

O may our dear Ladye and sweet Saint John 

Forgi\e our souls for the deed we ha\e done ! ' 

The monk returned him to his cell, 

And many a prayer and i)enance sped ; 
When the convent met at the noontide bell, 270 

The Monk of Saint Mary's aisle was dead ! 
Before the cross was the bodv laid. 
With hands clasped fast, as if still he prayed. 



XXIV. 

The knight breathed free in the niorning wind. 

And strove his hardihood to fmd : 

He was glad when he passed the tombstones gray 

Which girdle round the fair Abbaye ; 

For the mystic book, to his bosom pressed, 

Felt like a load upon his breast. 

And his joints, with nerves of iron twined, 2S0 

Shook like the aspen-leaves in wind. 

Y\\\\ fain was he when the dawn of day 

Began to brighten Cheviot gray ; 

He joyed to see the cheerful light, 

And he said Ave Mary as well as he might. 



. XXV. 

The sun had brightened Cheviot gray. 

The Sim had brightened the Carter's side j 

And soon beneath the rising day 

Smiled Branksome towers and Teviot's tide. 

The wild birds told their warbling tale, 290 

And wakened e\erv flower that blows ; 



CANTO II. LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 41 

And peeped fordi the violet pale, 

And spread her breast die mountain rose. 
And lovelier than the rose so red, 

Yet paler than the violet pale, 
She early left her sleepless bed, 

I'he fairest maid of 1 eviotdale. 

XXVI. 

Why does fair Margaret so early awake, 

And don her kirde so hastilie ; 
And the silken knots, which in hurry she would make, 300 

Why tremble her slender fingers to tie ? 
Why does she stop and look often around, 

As she glides down the secret stair ; 
And why does she pat the shaggy bloodhound, 

As he rouses him up from his lair ; 
And, though she passes the postern alone. 
Why is not the watchman's bugle blown? 

XX VI I. 

The ladye steps in doubt and dread 

Lest her watchful mother hear her tread ; 

The ladye caresses the rough bloodhound 310 

Lest his voice should waken the casde round ; 

The watchman's bugle is not blown 

For he was her foster-father's son ; 

And she glides through the greenwood at dawn of light 

To meet Baron Henry, her own true knight. 

XXVIII. 

The knight and ladye fair are met, 

And under the hawthorn's boughs are set. 

A fairer pair were never seen 

To meet beneath the hawthorn green. 



42 LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto ir. 

He was stately and young and tall, 320 

Dreaded in battle and loved in hall ; 

And she, when love, scarce told, scarce hid, 

Lent to her cheek a li\clior rod. 

When the half sigh her swelling breast 

Against the silken ribbon pressed, 

When her blue e>'es their secret told, 

Though shaded by lier loeks oi gold — 

Where would you luul the peerless fair 

With Margaret of I'ranksonie might coniixire ! 

XXIX. 

And now. fair dames, methinks I see 330 

You listen to my minstrels}- ; 

Your waving locks ye backward throw. 

And sidelong bend your necks i:t{ snow. 

Ye ween to hear a melting tale 

Of two true lovers in a dale ; 

And how .the knight, with tender fire, 

To paint his faithful passion strove. 
Swore he might at her feet expire, 

But never, ne\er cease to love ; 
And how she blushed, and how she sighed, 340 

And, half consenting, half denied. 
And said that she would die a maid ; — 
Yet, might the bloody feud be stayed, 
Henry of Cranstoun, and only he, 
Margaret of Branksome's choice should be. 

XXX. 

Alas ! fliir dames, your hopes are vain ! 
My harp has lost the enchanting strain ; 

Its lightness would my age rei)rove : 
My hairs are gray, my limbs are old, 
My heart is dead, my veins are cold : 35° 

I may not, must not, sing of love. 



CANTO II. LAV 01' THE LAST MINSTREL. 43 

XXXI. 

Beneath an oak, mossed o'er by eld, 
The Baron's dwarf his courser held, 

And held his crested helm and spear : 
That dwarf was scarce an earthly man. 
If the tales were true that of him ran 

Through all the 13order far and near. 
'Twas said, when the Baron a-hunting rode 
Tiirough Reedsdale's glens, but rarely trod. 
He heard a voice cry, ' Lost ! lost ! lost ! ' 360 

And, like tennis-ball by racket tossed, 

A leap of thirty feet and three 
Made from the gorse this elfm shape, 
Distorted like some dwarfish ape. 

And lighted at Lord Cranstoun's knee. 
Lord Cranstoun was some whit dismayed ; 
'T is said that five good miles he rade. 

To rid him of his company ; 
But where he rode one mile, the dwarf ran four. 
And the dwarf was first at the castle door. 370 

XXXII. 

Use lessens marvel, it is said : 

This elfish dwarf with the Baron staid ; 

Little he ate, and less he spoke, 

Nor mingled with the menial flock ; 

And oft apart his arms he tossed. 

And often muttered, ' Lost ! lost ! lost ! ' 
He was waspish, arch, and litherlie. 
But well Lord Cranstoun served he : 

And he of his service was full fain ; 

For once he had been ta'en or slain, 380 

An it had not been for his ministry. 

All between Home and Hermitage 

Talked of Lord Cranstoun's Gobhn Page. 



44 



LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



CANTO II. 




THE YARROW. 



XXXIII. 

For the Baron went on pilgrimage, 
And took with him this elfish page, 

To Mary's Chapel of the Lowes ; 
For there, beside Our Ladye's lake, 
An offering he had sworn to make. 

And he would pay his vows. 
But the Ladye of Branksome gathered a band 
Of the best that would ride at her command ; 

The trysting-place was Newark Lee. 
Wat of Harden came thither amain. 
And thither came John of Thirlestane, 
And thither came William of Deloraine ; 

They were three hundred spears and three. 



390 



CANTO II. LAY OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. 45 

Through Douglas-burn, up Yarrow stream, 

Their horses prance, their lances gleam. 

They came to Saint Mary's lake ere day. 

But the chapel was void and the Baron away. 400 

They burned the chapel for very rage, 

And cursed Lord Cranstoun's Goblin Page. 

XXXIV. 

And now, in Branksome's good greenwood, 

As under the aged oak he stood. 

The Baron's courser pricks his ears, 

iVs if a distant noise he hears. 

The dwarf waves his long lean arm on high. 

And signs to the lovers to part and fly ; 

No time was then to vow or sigh. 

Fair Margaret through the hazel-grove 4io 

Flew like the starded cushat-dove : 

The dwarf the stirrup held and rein ; 

Vaulted the knight on his steed amain. 

And, pondering deep that morning's scene. 

Rode eastward through the hawthorns green. 



While thus he poured the lengthened tale. 

The Minstrel's voice began to fail. 

Full slyly smiled the observant page, 

And gave the withered hand of age 

A goblet, crowned with mighty wine, 420 

The blood of Velez' scorched vine. 

He raised the silver cup on high. 

And, while the big drop filled his eye. 

Prayed God to bless the Duchess long. 

And all who cheered a son of song. 

The attending maidens smiled to see 

How long, how deep, how zealously, 



46 



LA V OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. 



CANTO II. 



The precious juice the Minstrel quaffed ; 
And he, emboldened by the draught, 
Looked gayly back to them and laughed. 
The cordial nectar of the bowl 
Swelled his old veins and cheered his soul 
A lighter, livelier prelude ran, 
Ere thus his tale again began. 



430 



>^.¥ 








n 



m -d'^ 'r?^ 



E'en the rude watchman on the tower 
Enjoyed and blessed the lovely hour (iii. 309). 



CANTO THIRD. 



And said I that my limbs were old, 
And said I that my blood was cold, 
And that my kindly fire was fled, 
And my poor withered heart was dead, 

And that I might not sing of love? — 
How could I to the dearest theme 
That ever warmed a minstrel's dream, 

So foul, so false a recreant prove ? 
How could I name love's very name. 
Nor wake my heart to notes of flame? 



10 



48 LA V OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto hi. 



II. 

In peace, Love tunes the shepherd's reed ; 

In war, he mounts the warrior's steed ; 

In halls, in gay attire is seen ; 

In hamlets, dances on the green. 

Love rules the court, the camp, the grove, 

And men below, and saints above ; 

For love is heaven, and heaven is love. 

ni. 

So thought Lord Cranstonn, as I ween, 

While, pondering deep the tender scene, 

He rode through l^ranksome's hawthorn green. 20 

But the page shouted wild and shrill, 

And scarce his helmet could he don, 
^^'hen downward from the shady hill 

A stately kmght came pricking on. 
That warrior's steed, so dapple-gray, 
Was dark with sweat and splashed with clay, 

His armor red with many a stain : 
He seemed in such a weary plight. 
As if he had ridden the livelong night ; 

For it was William of Deloraine. 30 

IV. 

l^ut no whit weary did he seem, 

When, dancing in the sunny beam. 

He marked the crane on the Baron's crest ; 

For his ready spear was in his rest. 

Few were the words, and stern and high, 

That marked the foemen's feudal hate ; 
For question fierce and proud reply 

Gave sisrnal soon of dire debate. 



CANTO III. LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 49 

Their very coursers seemed to know 

That each was other's mortal foe, 40 

And snorted fire when wheeled around 

To give each knight his vantage-ground. 

V. 

In rapid round the Baron bent ; 

He sighed a sigh and prayed a prayer ; 
The prayer was to his patron saint, 

The sigh was to his ladye fair. 
Stout Deloraine nor sighed nor prayed. 
Nor saint nor ladye called to aid ; 
But he stooped his head, and couched his spear. 
And spurred his steed to full career. 50 

The meeting of these champions proud 
Seemed like the bursting thunder-cloud. 

VI. 

Stern was the dint the Borderer lent ! 
The stately Baron backwards bent, 
Bent backwards to his horse's tail. 
And his plumes went scattering on the gale ; 
I'he tough ash spear, so stout and true, 
Into a thousand flinders flew. 
But Cranstoun's lance, of more avail, 
Pierced through, like silk, the Borderer's mail ; 60 

Through shield and jack and acton passed, 
Deep in his bosom broke at last. 
Still sate the warrior saddle-fast, 
Till, stumbling in the mortal shock, 
Down went the steed, the girthing broke, 
Hurled on a heap lay man and horse. 
The Baron onward passed his course. 
Nor knew — so giddy rolled his brain — 
His foe lay stretched upon the plain. 

4 



50 LAV OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. canto hi. 

VII. 

But when he reined his courser round, 70 

And saw his foeman on the ground 

Lie senseless as the bloody clay, 
He bade his page to stanch the wound. 

And there beside the warrior stay, 
And tend him in his doubtful state, 
And lead him to Branksome castle-gate : 
His noble mind was inly moved 
For the kinsman of the maid he loved. 
* This shalt thou do without delay : 
No longer here myself may stay ; 80 

Unless the swifter I speed away. 
Short shrift will be at my dying day.' 

VIII. 

Away in speed Lord Cranstoun rode ; 

The Goblin Page behind abode ; 

His lord's command he ne'er withstood, 

Though small his pleasure to do good. 

As the corselet off he took. 

The dwarf espied the Mighty Book ! 

Much he marvelled a knight of pride 

Like a book-bosomed priest should ride : 90 

He thought not to search or stanch the wound 

Until the secret he had found. 

IX. 

The iron band, the iron clasp, 

Resisted long the elfin grasp ; 

For when the first he had undone. 

It closed as he the next begun. 

Those iron clasi)s, that iron band, ' 

Would not yield to unchristened hand 



CANTO III. 



LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 5^ 

Till he smeared the cover o'er 

With the Borderer's curdled gore ; »«> 

A moment then the volume spread, 

And one short spell therein he read. 

It had much of glamour might, 

Could make a ladye seem a knight, 

The cobwebs on a dungeon wall 

Seem tapestry in lordly hall, 

A nutshell seem a gilded barge, 

A sheeling seem a palace large, 

And youth seem age, and age seem youth — 

All was delusion, nought was truth. 

X. 

He had not read another spell. 

When on his cheek a buffet fell. 

So fierce, it stretched him on the plain 

Beside the wounded Deloraine. 

From the ground he rose dismayed. 

And shook his huge and matted head ; 

One word he muttered and no more, 

' Man of age, thou smitest sore 1 ' 

No more the elfin page durst try 

Into the wondrous book to pry ; 

The clasps, though smeared with Christian gore, 

Shut faster than they were before. 

He hid it underneath his cloak. — 

Now, if you ask who gave the stroke, 

I cannot tell, so mot I thrive ; 

It was not given by man alive. 

XI. 

Unwillingly himself he addressed 
To do his master's high behest : 



I20 



52 /..!)- OF rifE i.Asr m/.wsi^rel. canto in. 

1 \c lilk'tl up till' li\ Jul; corse. 

And l.iid i( o\\ [\\c \\c:\x\ lu)rs(.' ; 130 

lie led him into l5ranksonie Hail 

Hefore the beards of the warders all, 

And eai'h did alter swear and say 

There onl\' passi^d a wain of ha\'. 

lie li>ok him to Lord David's tower, 

V.\c\\ to \\\c Ladye's secret bower ; 

And, hut that stnuiger sjh'Us wta'c spreatl. 

And the i\oo\- n\iL;hl not be opened, 

lie had laiil him on her \er)' bed. 

W'hate'er he did ofi^ramarve 140 

Was alwa\s ilom^ malicii>ush" ; 

lie llunf; the wanii^r on the ground. 

And the blood wi^lled lVeshl\- iVom the woimd. 

Ml. 

As lie repassed the outer court, 

\\c spied the fair \oun_L; child at sport : 

He diouuht to train him {o the wood ; 

luir. at a word, be it nndiastood, 

lie was always lor ill, anil ne\er lor L;ood. 

Seemed to the boy some conu-ade gay 

bed him forth to the woods to play ; 150 

On the ilrawbridgo the warders stout 

Saw a terrier and lurcher i)assing out. 

\in. 

He led the ben- o'er bank and tell. 

Until they came to a wooiUand brook ; 

'V\\c running stream dissolveil the spell, 
And his own eltlsh shape he tc»ok. 

C'ould he have had his j)loasurc vildc. ' 

He hail crippled the joints of the noble child. 



CANTO III. 



LAV OF T/IE LAST AUNSTRKL. 



53 










Or, with his fingers long and lean, 

Had strangled liini in fiendish spleen : 

But his awful mother he had in dread, 

And also his power was limited ; 

So he but scowled on the starUed child, 

And darted through the forest wild ; 

The woodland brook he bounding crossed, 

And laughed, and shouted, ' L,ost ! lost ! lost ! ' 



1 60 



XIV. 

Full sore amazed at the wondrous change, 

And frightened, as a child might be. 
At the wild yell and visage strange, 

And tlie dark words of gramarye, 
The child, amidst tlie forest bower, 
Stood rooted like a lily flower ; 
And when at length, with trembling pace, 

He sought to find where Branksome lay. 
He feared to see that grisly face 

Glare from some thicket on his way. 
Thus, starting oft, he journeyed on, 
And deeper in the wood is gone, — 



170 



54 /^--H' OF TIIK LAST MINSTREL. canto hi. 

For aye ihe more ho sought his way, 

'I'ho farther still he went astray, — i8o 

Until ho heard the mountains round 

Ring to the baying of a hound. 

XV. 

And hark ! and hark ! the deep-mouthed bark 

Comes nigher slill antl nigher ; 
Bursts on the path a dark bloodhound. 
His tawny muzzle tracked the ground, 

And his red eye shot fire. 
Soon as the wildered child saw he, 
He flew at him right furiouslie. 

1 ween you would ha\ e seen with joy 190 

The bearing of the gallant boy, 
When, worth)- of his noble sire, 
His wet cheek glowed 'twixt fear and ire ! 
He fixced the bloodhound manfully, 
And held his little bat on high ; 
So tierce he struck, the dog, afraid. 
At cautious distance hoarsely bayed, 

l^ut still in act to spring ; 
When dashed an archer through the glade, 
And when he saw the hound was stayed, 200 

He drew his tough bowstring ; 
But a rough voice cried, ' Shoot not, hoy ! 
Ho ! shoot not, Edward, — 't is a boy ! ' 

XVT. 

The speaker issued from the wood, 
And checked his fellow's surly mood, 

And quelled the ban-dog's ire : 
He was an English yeoman good ' 

And born in Lancashire. 



CANTO III. LAV OJ' run LAST AI/NSTREL. 



55 







Well could he hit a fallow-deer 

I'ivc hundred feet hi in fro ; 
With hand more true and eye more clear 

No archer benderl bow. 
His coal-black hair, shorn round and close, 

Set off his sun-burned face ; 
Old li^ngland's sign, Saint Oeorge's cross, 

His barret-cai> did grace ; 
His bugle-horn hung by his side, 

All in a wolf- skin baldric tied ; 
And his short falchion, sharp and clear. 
Had pierced the throat of many a deer. 



XVII. 

His kirtle, made of forest green, 
Reached scantly to his knee ; 

And, at his belt, of arrows keen 
A furbished sheaf bore he ; 



56 LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto HI. 

His buckler scarce \\\ l)roadth a span, 

No longer fence had he ; 
He never counted him a man, 

Woukl strike l)elo\v the knee : 
His slackeneil bow was in his hand, 
And the leash that was his bloodhound's band. 230 

XVIII. 

I le would not do the fair child harm, 
Hut held him with his powerful arm. 
That he might neither fight nor llee ; 
l''or when the retl cross si)ied he, 
The boy strove long antl violently. 
' Nt)w, b\- Saint (icorge,' the archer cries, 
' lulward, methinks we have a prize ! 
This boy's fair fiice and courage free 
Show he is come of high degree.' 

'■ Yes ! I am come (.^{ high degree, 340 

For I am the heir of bold Buccleuch; 

And, if thou dost not set me free, 

l^dse Southron, thou shalt dearly rue ! 

For Walter of Harden shall come with speed. 

And William of Deloraine, good at need, 

And every Scott from Fsk to Tweed; 

And, if thou dost not let me go. 

Despite thy arrows and thy bow, 

I '11 have thee hanged to feed the crow ! ' 

XX. 

'(^iramercy for thy good-will, fair boy ! 250 

My mind was never set so high ; 
But if thou art chief of such a clan, 
And art the son of such a man, 



CANTO 111. 



LAY 01' 77//': /.AST 1\TINST/<I':/.. 



57 







And ever comest to thy command, 

Our wardens had need to kecj) good order : 
My bow of yew to a hazel wand, 

'I hoi I 'It make them work u])on the liorder I 
Meantime, be pleased to come with me, 
\u)r good Lord Dacre shalt thou see ; 
I think our work is well begun. 
When we have taken thy father's son.* 



260 



XXI. 



Although the child was led away. 
In ilranksome still he seemed to stay, 
For so the Dwarf his jxirt did j)lay ; 
And, in the sha])e of that young boy, 
lie wrought the castle much annoy. 
The comrades of the young Buccleuch 



S8 LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto hi. 

He pinched and beat and overthrew ; 

Nay, some of them he well-nigh slew. 

He tore Dame Maudlin's silken tire, 270 

And, as Sym Hall stood by the fire, 

He lighted the match of his bandelier, 

And wofully scorched the hackbuteer. 

It may be hardly thought or said, 

The mischief that the urchin made, 

Till many of the castle guessed 

That the young baron was possessed ! 

XXII. 

A\^ell I ween the charm he held 

The noble Ladye had soon dispelled, 

But she was deeply busied then 280 

To tend the wounded Deloraine. 

Much she wondered to find him lie 

On the stone threshold stretched along : 
She thought some spirit of the sky 

Had done the bold moss-trooper wrong, 
Because, despite her precept dread. 
Perchance he in the book had read ; 
But the broken lance in his bosom stood. 
And it was earthly steel and wood. 

XXIII. 

She drew the splinter from the wound, 290 

And with a charm she stanched the blood. 

She bade the gash be cleansed and bound : 
No longer by his couch she stood ; 

But she has ta'en the broken lance, 
And washed it from the clotted gore, 
And salved the splinter o'er and o'er. 

William of Deloraine, in trance, 



CANTO III. LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 59 

Whene'er she turned it round and round, 
Twisted as if she galled his wound. 

Then to her maidens she did say, 300 

That he should be whole man and sound 

Within the course of a night and day. 
Full long she toiled, for she did rue 
Mishap to friend so stout and true. 

XXIV. 

So passed the day — the evening fell, 

'T was near the time of curfew bell ; 

The air was mild, the wind was calm, 

The stream was smooth, the dew was balm ; 

E'en the rude watchman on the tower 

Enjoyed and blessed the lovely hour. 310 

Far more fair Margaret loved and blessed 

The hour of silence and of rest. 

On the high turret sitting lone, 

She waked at times the lute's soft tone, 

Touched a wild note, and all between 

Thought of the bower of hawthorns green. 

Her golden hair streamed free from band, 

Her fair cheek rested on her hand, 

Her blue eyes sought the west afar, 

For lovers love the western star. 320 

XXV. 

Is yon the star, o'er Penchryst Pen, 

That rises slowly to her ken. 

And, spreading broad its wavering light, 

Shakes its loose tresses on the night? 

Is yon red glare the western star ? — 

O, 't is the beacon-blaze of war ! 

Scarce could she draw her tightened breath, 

For well she knew the fire of death ! 



6o ZAV OF THE LAST AIIjYSTREL. canto hi. 



XXVI. 

The warder viewed it blazing strong, 

And blew his war-note loud and long, 330 

Till, at the high and haughty sound, 

Rock, wood, and river rung around. 

The blast alarmed the festal hall, 

And startled forth the warriors all ; 

Far downward in the castle-yard 

Full many a torch and cresset glared ; 

And helms and plumes, confusedly tossed, 

Were in the blaze half seen, half lost ; 

And spears in wild disorder shook, 

Like reeds beside a frozen brook. 340 

XXVII. 

The seneschal, whose silver hair 

Was reddened by the torches' glare, 

Stood in the midst, with gesture proud, 

And issued forth his mandates loud : 

' On Penchryst glows a bale of fire, 

And three are kindling on Priesthaughswire ; 

Ride out, ride out. 

The foe to scout ! 
Mount, mount for Branksome, every man ! 
Thou, Todrig, warn the Johnstone clan, 35° 

That ever are true and stout. 
Ye need not send to Liddesdale, 
For when they see the blazing bale 
Elliots and Armstrongs never fail. — 
Ride, Alton, ride, for death and life. 
And warn the warden of the strife ! — 
Young Gilbert, let our beacon blaze. 
Our kin and clan and friends to raise ! ' 



CANTO III. 



LAY OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. 



6l 




XXVIII. 

Fair Margaret from the turret head 
Heard far below the coursers' tread, 

While loud the harness rung, 
As to their seats with clamor dread 

The ready horsemen sprung : 
And trampling hoofs, and iron coats, 
And leaders' voices, mingled notes, 
And out ! and out ! 
In hasty rout, 

The horsemen galloped forth ; 
Dispersing to the south to scout. 

And east, and west, and north, 
To view their coming enemies. 
And warn their vassals and allies. 



360 



370 



XXIX. 



The ready page with hurried hand 
Awaked the need-fire's slumbering brand, 
And ruddy blushed the heaven ; 



62 LAV OF THE LASr MINSTREL. canto iti. 

Iu)r a sheet of llame from the (uir"! liii^li 
Waved hke a hUxKl-llai;" on the sky, 

All llariiiL; and uneven. 
And si)t>n a score of fires, I ween, 
From height and hill and eliffwere seen, 380 

Ivirh with warlike tidings frauL^ht ; 
lOaeh from each the siL;nal eant^ht ; 
l\aeh after each they glaiux^d to si^ht, 
As stars arise upon the ni^ht. 
'Hiev gleamed on man\ a duskv tarn, 
Haunted by the lonely earn ; 
On manv a cairn's grav p\ramid. 
Where urns of mightv chiets lie hid ; 
Till high Dunedin the bla/.es saw 
From Soltra and ])um[)ender Law, 390 

And Lothian heard the Regent's order 
That all should bowne them for the Border. 

xx\. 

The livelong night in Hranksiime rang 

The ceaseless sound tif steel : 
The castle-bell with backward clang 

Sent torth the larum ]h\i1. 
Was fre(|uent heard the hea\y jar. 
Where massy stone and iron bar 
Were i')iled on echoing keep anil tower, 
To whelm the foe with deadly shower ; 400 

Was frequent heard the changing guard. 
And watchword from the sleepless ward ; 
While, wearied by the endless din. 
Bloodhound and ban-dog yelled within. 

XXXI. 

The noble dame, amid the broil. 
Shared the gray seneschal's high toil. 
And spoke of danger with a smile. 



CANTO III. LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 63 

Cheered tlie young knights, and council sage 

Held with the chiefs of riper age. 

No tidings of the foe were brought, 410 

Nor of his numbers knew they aught, 

Nor what in time of truce he sought. 

Some said that there were thousands ten ; 
And others weened that it was nought 

But Leven Clans or Tynedalc men, 
Who came to gather in black-mail ; 
And Liddesdale, with small avail, 

Might drive them lightly back agen. 
So passed the anxious night away, 
And welcome was the peep of day. 420 



Ceased the high sound — the listening throng 

Applaud the Master of the Song ; 

And marvel much, in helpless age. 

So hard should be his pilgrimage. 

Had he no friend — no daughter dear, 

His wandering toil to share and cheer? 

No son to be his father's stay, 

And guide him on the rugged way? 

' Ay, once he had — but he was dead ! ' — 

Upon the harp he stooped his head, 430 

And busied himself the strings withal, 

To hide the tear that fain would fall. 

In solemn measure, soft and slow. 

Arose a father's notes of woe. 





Beneath the peel's rude battlement (iv. 31). 



»- 



CANTO FOURTH. 



Sweet Teviot ! on thy silver tide 

The glaring bale-fires blaze no more ; 
No longer steel-clad warriors ride 

Along thy wild and willowed shore ; 
Where'er thou wind'st by dale or hill, 
All, all is peaceful, all is still, 

As if thy waves, since time was born. 
Since first they rolled upon the Tweed, 
Had only heard the shepherd's reed, 

Nor startled at the bugle-horn. 



CANTO IV. LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 65 

II. 
Unlike the tide of human time, 

Which, though it change in ceaseless flow, 
Retains each grief, retains each crime, 

Its earliest course was doomed to know. 
And, darker as it downward bears. 
Is stained with past and present tears. 

Low as that tide has ebbed with me. 
It still reflects to memory's eye 
The hour my brave, my only boy 

Fell by the side of great Dundee. 20 

Why, when the volleying musket played 
Against the bloody Highland blade. 
Why was not I beside him laid ? — 
Enough — he died the death of fame ; 
Enough — he died with conquering Graeme. 

Ill 
Now over Border dale and fell 

Full wide and far was terror spread ; 
For pathless marsh and mountain cell 

The peasant left his lowly shed. 
The frightened flocks and herds were pent 30 

Beneath the peel's rude battlement ; 
And maids and matrons dropped the tear. 
While ready warriors seized the spear. 
From Branksome's towers the watchman's eye 
Dun wreaths of distant smoke can spy, 
Which, curling in the rising sun. 
Showed Southern ravage was begun. 

IV. 

Now loud the heedful gate-ward cried : 
* Prepare ye all for blows and blood ! 
5 



66 LAY OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. canto iv. 

Watt Tinlinn, from the Liddel-side, 40 

Comes wading through the flood. 
Full oft the Tynedale snatchers knock 
At his lone gate and prove the lock ; 
It was but last Saint Barnabright 
They sieged him a whole summer night, 
But fled at morning ; well they knew, 
In vain he never twanged the yew. 
Right sharp has been the evening shower 
That drove him from his Liddel tower ; 
And, by my faith,' the gate-ward said, 50 

* I think 'twill prove a Warden-Raid.' 



While thus he spoke, the bold yeoman 

Entered the echoing barbican. 

He led a small and shaggy nag, 

That through a bog, from hag to hag, 

Could bound like any Billhope stag. 

It bore his wife and children twain ; 

A half-clothed serf was all their train : 

His wife, stout, ruddy, and dark-browed, 

Of silver brooch and bracelet proud, 60 

Laughed to her friends among the crowd. 

He was of stature passing tall, 

But sparely formed and lean withal : 

A battered morion on his brow ; 

A leathern jack, as fence enow. 

On his broad shoulders loosely hung ; 

A Border axe behind was slung ; 

His spear, six Scottish ells in length, 
Seemed newly dyed with gore ; 

His shafts and bow, of wondrous strength, 70 

His hardy partner bore. 



CANTO IV. 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



67 




VI. 

Thus to the Ladye did Tinhnn show 

The tidings of the EngUsh foe : 

' Belted Will Howard is marching here, 

And hot Lord Dacre, with many a spear, 

And all the German hackbut-men 

Who have long lain at Askerten. 

They crossed the Liddel at curfew hour, 

And burned my little lonely tower — 

The fiend receive their souls therefor ! 

It had not been burnt this year and more. 

Barnyard and dwelling, blazing bright, 

Served to guide me on my flight. 

But I was chased the livelong night. 

Black John of Akeshaw and Fergus Graeme 

Fast upon my traces came. 

Until I turned at Priesthaugh Scrogg, 



8c 



68 Ljy OF THE LAST MLVSTKEL. canto iv. 

And shot their horses in the bog, 

Slew Fergus witli my lance outright — 

I had him long at high despite ; 90 

He drove my cows last Fastern's night.' 

VII. 

Now weary scouts from Liddesdale, 
Fast hurrying in, confirmed the tale ; 
As for as they could judge by ken, 

Three hours would bring to Teviot's strand 
Three thousand armed l^nglishmen. 

Meanwhile, full many a warlike band, 
From Teviot, Aill, and Ettrick shade, 
Came in, their chief's defence to aid. 
There was saddling and mounting in haste, 100 

There was pricking o'er moor and lea ; 
He that was last at the trysting-place 

\\'as but lightly held of his gay ladye. 

VIII. 

From fair Saint IMary's silver wave. 

From dreary Gamescleuch's dusky height, 
His ready lances Thirlestane brave 

Arrayed beneath a banner bright. 
The tressured fleur-de-luce he claims 
To wreathe his shield, since royal James, 
Encamped by Fala's mossy wave, "o 

The proud distinction grateful gave 

For faith mid feudal jars ; 
What time, save Thirlestane alone. 
Of Scotland's stubborn barons none 

\\'ould march to southern wars ; 
And hence, in fair remembrance worn, 
Yon sheaf of spears his crest has borne ; 
Hence his high motto shines revealed, 
* Ready, aye ready,' for the field. 



CANTO IV. LA Y OF VV/E LAST M/NSTRRL. 69 

IX. 

An aged knight, to danger steeled, 120 

With many a moss-trooper, came on ; 
And, azure in a golden field, 
The stars and crescent graced his shield. 

Without the bend of Murdieston. 
Wide lay his lands round Oakwood Tower, 
And vvifle round haunted Castle-Ower ; 
High over Borthvvick's mountain flood 
His wood-embosomed mansion stood ; 
In the dark glen, so deep below, 
The herds of plundered I'^ngland low, 130 

His bold retainers' daily food, 
And bought with danger, blows, and blood. 
Marauding chief! his sole delight 
The moonlight raid, the morning fight ; 
Not even the Flower of Yarrow's charms 
In youth might tame his rage for arms ; 
And still in age he spurned at rest. 
And still his brows the helmet pressed, 
Albeit the blanched locks below 
Were white as Dinlay's spotless snow. 140 

Five stately warriors drew the sword 

Before their father's band ; 
A braver knight than Harden's lord 

Ne'er belted on a brand. 

X. 

Scotts of Eskdale, a stalwart band, 

Came trooping down the Todshawhill ; 

By the sword they won their land, 
And by the sword they hold it still. 

Hearken, Ladye, to the tale 

How thy sires won fair Eskdale, 150 



70 J^'iy OF niE LAST J//A'S/'A'£L. canto iv. 

Karl IMorton was lord of that \allcy fair, 

The lioattisons wore his vassals there. 

The earl was gentle and mild of mood. 

The \ assals were waiiike and fieree and rude ; 

High of heart and haughty of word, 

Little they rec^keil of a tame liegcdord. 

The carl into fair I'lskdale eame, 

Homage and seignioi\- to claim : 

Of Ciilhert the (lalliard a heriot he sought, 

Saying, '(ii\e thv best steed, as a vassal ought.' 160 

' Dear to me is mv bi)nnv white steed, 

0\\ has he heljied me at pinch of need; 

lA)rd audi earl though thou be, 1 trow, 

1 ean rein lUieksfoot better than thou.' 

\\on\ on word gave fuel to hre. 

Till so high blazed the lieattison's ire, 

Tuit that the ead the flight hacl ta'en. 

The vassals there their lord had slain. 

Sore he jilied both whip and spur. 

As he urged his steed through I'lskdale muir ; 170 

And it fell tlown a weary weight, 

Just on the threshold o( l^ranksome gate. 

XI. 

The earl was a wrathful man to see. 

Full fain avenged would he be. 

In haste to Branksome's lord he spoke. 

Saying, ' Take these traitors to thy yoke ; 

For a east o( hawks, and a })urse of gold, 

.Ml l<:skdale 1 '11 sell thee, to have and hold : 

Beshrew thy heart, of the lieattisons' elan 

If thou leavest on Eske a landed man ! x8o 

r>ut si)are AVoodkerriek's lands alone. 

For he lent nie his horse to escape upon.' 



CANTO IV. 



LA V OF 77//': LAST A7/NS7'A'L:L. 



71 




A GATE AT BRANKSOMK. 



A glad man then was Branksome bold, 

Down he flung him the purse of gold ; 

'I'o Kskdale soon he spurred amain, 

And with liim five hundred riders has ta'en. 

He left his mcrrymen in the mist of the hill. 

And bade them hold them close and still ; 

And alone he wenderl to the plain, 

To meet with the (halliard and all his train. 

To Oilbcrt the Galliard thus he said: 

* Know thou me for thy liege-lord and head ; 

Deal not with me as with Morton tame, 

For Scotts play best at the roughest game. 

Ciive me in peace my heriot due, 

Thy bonny white steed, or thou shalt rue. 

If my horn I three times wind, 

Eskdale shall long have the sound in mind.' 



190 



72 L.n' OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto iv. 

XII. 

TvOudly tlio IVatlison laui;lKHl in scorn ; 

' Little i\uv \vc tor \\\\ witukd horn. aoo 

Ne'er shall it be the Cialliard's lot 

To yield his steed to a haughty Scott. 

Wend thou to Branksome back on loot, 

With rusty spur and nilrv boot.' 

He blew his bugle so loud and hoarse 

'J'hat the dun deer started at iar Craikcross ; 

He blew again so loud and clear. 

Through the gray mountain-mist there did lances appear; 

And the third blast rang with such a din 

That the echoes answered from Pentoun-linn. axo 

And all his riders came lightly in. 

Then had you seen a gallant shock. 

When saddles were emptied and lances broke ! 

For each scornful word the (lalliard had said 

A Ikwttison on the field was laid. 

His own good sword the I'liieflain drew. 

And he bore the Cialliarel through and through ; 

Where the Beattisons' blood mixed with the rill, 

The (jalliard's Haugh men call it still. 

The Scotts have scattered the Beattison clan, aao 

In Eskdale they left but one landed man. 

The valley of Kskc, from the mouth to the source, 

\\'as lost and won for that bonny white horse. 

XIII. 

Whitslade the Hawk, and Headshaw came. 
And warriors more than I may name ; 
From Yarrow-cleugh to Hinilhaugh-swair, 

From \\'oodhouselie to CMiester-glen, 
Trooj^eil man and horse, and bow and spear j 

Their gatherins; word was Bellenden, 



f;ANTo IV. /,AV ()/• I J /I: LAST MINSTNEL. 73 

And better liearts o'er iiordcr sod 230 

To siege or rescue never rode. 

The Ladye markefl the aids come in, 

And high her heart of pride arose ; 
She bade her youthful son attend, 
That he might know his father's friend, 

And learn to face his foes : 
* The boy is ripe to I(.>ok on war ; 

I saw him draw a cross-bow stiff, 
And his true arrow struck afar 

The raven's nest upon the cliff; 340 

The red cross on a Southern breast 
Is broader than the raven's nest : 
Thou, Whitslade, shall teach him his weapon to wield, 
And o'er him hold liis father's shield.' 



XIV. 

Well may you think the wily page 

Cared not to face the Ladye sage. 

He counterfeited childish fear. 

And shrieked, and shed full many a tear. 

And moaned, and plained in manner wild. 

The attendants to the Ladye told. 250 

Some fairy, sure, had changed the child, 

That wont to be so free and bold. 
Then wrathful was the noble dame ; 
She blushed blood-red for very shame : 
' Hence ! ere the clan his faintness view ; 
Hence with the weakling to liuccleuch ! — 
Watt Tinlinn, thou shalt be his guide 
To Ranglebum's lonely side. — 
Sure, some fell fiend has cursed our line. 
That coward should e'er be son of mine ! ' 2^0 



74 LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto iv. 



XV. 

A heavy task Watt Tinlinn had, 
To guide the counterfeited lad. 
Soon as the palfrey felt the weight 
Of that ill-omened elfish freight, 
He bolted, sprung, and reared amain, 
Nor heeded bit nor (urb nor rein. 
It cost Watt Tinhnn mickle toil 
To drive him but a Scottish mile ; 

But as a shallow brook they crossed, 
The elf, amid the running stream, 270 

His figure changed, like form in dream. 

And fled, and shouted, ' Lost ! lost ! lost ! * 
Full fast the urchin ran and laughed, 
But faster still a cloth-yard shaft 
Whistled from startled Tinlinn's yew. 
And pierced his shoulder through and through. 
Although the imp might not be slain, 
And though the wound soon healed again. 
Yet, as he ran, he yelled for pain ; 
And W'att of Tinlinn, much aghast, 280 

Rode back to Branksome fiery fast. 

XVI. 

Soon on the hill's steep verge he stood, 

That looks o'er Branksome 's towers and wood ; 

And martial murmurs from below 

Proclaimed the approaching Southern foe. 

Through the dark wood, in mingled tone. 

Were Border pipes and bugles blown ; 

The coursers' neighing he could ken, 

A measured tread of marching men ; 

While broke at times the solemn hum, 290 

The Almayn's sullen kettle-drum ; 



CANTO IV. LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 75 

And banners tall, of crimson sheen, 

Above the copse appear ; 
And, glistening through the hawthorns green, 

Shine helm and shield and spear. 

XVII. 

Light forayers first, to view the ground. 
Spurred their fleet coursers loosely round ; 
Behind, in close array, and fast, 

The Kendal archers, all in green, 
Obedient to the bugle blast, 300 

Advancing from the wood were seen. 
To back and guard the archer band. 
Lord Dacre's billmen were at hand : 
A hardy race, on Irthing bred. 
With kirtles white and crosses red. 
Arrayed beneath the banner tall 
That streamed o'er Acre's conquered wall; 
And minstrels, as they marched in order. 
Played, ' Noble Lord Dacre, he dwells on the Border.' 

XVIII. 

Behind the English bill and bow 310 

The mercenaries, firm and slow, 

Moved on to fight in dark array, 
By Conrad led of Wolfenstein, 
Who brought the band from distant Rhine, 

And sold their blood for foreign pay. 
The camp their home, their law the sword. 
They knew no country, owned no lord : 
They were not armed like England's sons, 
But bore the levin-darting guns ; 

Buff coats, all frounced and broidered o'er, 320 

And morsing-horns and scarfs they wore ; 
Each better knee was bared, to aid 
The warriors in the escalade ; 



76 LA V OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto \\. 

All as they marched, in rugged tongue 
Songs of Teutonic feuds they sung. 

XIX. 

But louder still the clamor grew, 

And louder still the minstrels blew. 

When, from beneath the greenwood tree, 

Rode forth Lord Howard's chivalry ; 

His men-at-arms, with glaive and spear, 330 

Brought up the battle's glittering rear. 

There many a }'outhful knight, full keen 

To gain his spurs, in arms was seen, 

With favor in his crest or glove, 

Memorial of his ladye-love. 

So rode they forth in fair array, 

Till full their lengthened lines display ; 

Then called a halt, and made a stand, 

And cried, ' Saint George for merry England ! ' 

XX. 

Now every English eye intent 340 

On Branksome's armed towers was bent ; 

So near they were that they might know 

The straining harsh of each cross-bow ; 

On battlement and bartizan 

Gleamed axe and spear and partisan ; 

Falcon and culver on each tower 

Stood prompt their deadly hail to shower \ 

And flashing armor frequent broke 

From eddying whirls of sable smoke. 

Where upon tower and turret head 350 

The seething pitch and molten lead 

Reeked like a witch's caldron red. 

While yet they gaze, the bridges foil, 

The wicket opes, and from the wall 

Rides forth the hoary seneschal. 



CANTO IV. 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 



77 




XXI. 

Armed he rode, all save the head, 

His white beard o'er his breastplate spread 

Unbroke by age, erect his seat, 

He ruled his eager courser's gait. 

Forced him with chastened fire to prance, 

And, high curvetting, slow advance : 

In sign of truce, his better hand 

Displayed a peeled willow wand ; 

His squire, attending in the rear. 

Bore high a gauntlet on a spear. 

When they espied him riding out, 

Lord Howard and Lord Dacre stout 

Sped to the front of their array, 

To hear what this old knight should say. 



360 



78 LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto iv. 



XXII. 
' Ye English warden lords, of you 370 

Demands the Ladye of liuccleuch, 
Why, 'gainst the truce of Jjorder tide, 
In hostile guise ye dare to ride, 
With Kendal bow and Gilsland brand, 
And all )on mercenary band. 
Upon the bounds of fair Scotland? 
My Ladye reads you swilh return ; 
And, if but one poor straw you burn, 
Or do our towers so much molest 
As scare one swallow from her nest, 380 

Saint Mary ! but we '11 light a brand 
Shall warm your hearths in Cumberland.' — 



XXIII. 

A wrathful man was Dacre's lord. 

But calmer Howard took the word : 

' May 't please thy dame, Sir Seneschal, 

To seek the castle's outward wall, 

Our pursuivant-at-arms shall show 

Both why we came and when we go.' 

The message sped, the noble dame 

To the wall's outward circle came ; 390 

Each chief around leaned on his spear. 

To see the pursuivant appear. 

All in Lord Howard's livery dressed, 

The lion argent decked his breast ; 

He led a boy of blooming hue — 

O sight to meet a mother's view ! 

It was the heir of great Buccleuch. 

Obeisance meet the lierald made, 

And thus his master's will he said : 



CANTO IV. LAY OF 'J'lJK J.AS'J' MINSTREL. 79 



XXIV. 

' It irks, high dame, my noble lords, 400 

'(iainst ladye fair to draw their swords ; 

liut yet they may not tamely see, 

All through the Western Wardenry, 

Your law-contemning kinsmen ride, 

And burn and spoil the Horder-side ; 

And ill beseems your rank and birth 

To make your towers a flemens-firtii. 

We claim from thee William of Ueloraine, 

That he may suffer march-treason pain. 

It was but last Saint Cuthbert's even 410 

He pricked to Stapleton on Leven, 

Harried the lands of Richard Musgrave, 

And slew his brother by dint of glaive. 

Then, since a lone and widowed dame 

These restless riders may not tame. 

Either receive within thy towers 

Two hundred of my master's powers, 

Or straight they sound their warrison. 

And storm and spoil thy garrison ; 

And this fair boy, to London led, 420 

Shall good King Edward's page be bred.' 

XXV. 

He ceased — and loud the boy did cry. 
And stretched his little arms on high, 
Implored for aid each well-known face. 
And strove to seek the dame's embrace. 
A moment changed that Ladye's cheer, 
Oushed to her eye the unbidden tear ; 
She gazed upon the leaders round. 
And dark and sad each warrior frowned ; 



8o LA Y OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. canto iv. 

Then deep within her sobbing breast 430 

She locked the strugghng sigh to rest, 
Unaltered and collected stood, 
And thus replied in dauntless mood : 

XXVI. 

' Say to your lords of high emprise 

Who war on women and on boys, 

That either William of Deloraine 

Will cleanse him by oath of march-treason stain, 

Or else he will the combat take 

'Gainst Musgrave for his honor's sake. 

No knight in Cumberland so good 440 

But William may count with him kin and blood. 

Knighthood he took of Douglas' sword, 

Wlien English blood swelled Ancram ford ; 

And but Lord Dacre's steed was wight, 

And bare him ably in the flight, 

Himself had seen him dubbed a knight. 

For the young heir of Branksome's line, 

God be his aid, and God be mine ! 

Through me no friend shall meet his doom ; 

Here, while I live, no foe finds room. 450 

Then, if thy lords their purpose urge, 

Take our defiance loud and high ; 
Our slogan is their lyke-wake dirge. 

Our moat the grave where they shall lie,' 

XXVII. 

Proud she looked round, applause to claim — 
Then lightened Thirlestane's eye of flame ; 

His bugle Wat of Harden blew ; 
Pensils and pennons wide were flung, 
To heaven the Border slogan rung, 

' Saint Mary for the young l^uccleuch ! * 460 



CANTO IV. LAY OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. 8i 

The English war-cry answered wide, 
And forward bent each Southern spear ; 

Each Kendal archer made a stride, 
And drew the bowstring to his ear ; 

Each minstrel's war-note loud was blown ; — 

But, ere a gray-goose shaft had flown, 
A horseman galloped from the rear. 



XXVIII. 

* Ah ! noble lords ! ' he breathless said, 

' What treason has your march betrayed ? 

What make you here from aid so far, 

Before you walls, around you war? 

Your foemen triumph in the thought 

That in the toils the lion 's caught. 

Already on dark Ruberslaw 

The Douglas holds his weapon-schaw ; 

The lances, waving in his train, 

Clothe the dun heath like autumn grain ; 

And on the Liddel's northern strand. 

To bar retreat to Cumberland, 

Lord Maxwell ranks his merrymen good 

Beneath the eagle and the rood ; 

And Jedwood, Eske, and Teviotdale, 

Have to proud Angus come ; 
And all the Merse and Lauderdale 

Have risen with haughty Home. 
An exile from Northumberland, 

In Liddesdale I 've wandered long, 
But still my heart was with merry England, 

And cannot brook my country's wrong ; 
And hard I 've spurred all night, to show 
The mustering of the coming foe.' 

6 



8a 



LAV OF THE LAST MIXSTREL. 



CANIO IV. 




RUBERSLAW. 



^^ XXIX. 

* And let them come I ' fierce Dacre cried ; 

* For soon yon crest, my father's pride, 
That swept the shores of Judah's sea. 
And waved in gales of Galilee, 

From Branksome's highest towers displayed, 
Shall mock the rescue's lingering aid ! — 
Level each harquebuss on row ; 
Draw, merr\' archers, draw the bow ; 
Up, billmcn, to the walls, and cry, 
Dacre for England, win or die ! ' — 



CANTO IV. LA V OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 83 

XXX. 

* Yet hear,' quoth Howard, ' calmly hear. 

Nor deem my words the words of fear : 

For who, in field or foray slack, 

Saw the Blanche Lion e'er fall back ? 

But thus to risk our Border flower 

In strife against a kingdom's power, 

Ten thousand Scots 'gainst thousands three, 

Certes, were desperate policy. 

Nay, take the terms the Ladye made s.io 

Ere conscious of the advancing aid : 

Let Musgrave meet fierce Deloraine 

In single fight, and if he gain, 

He gains for us ; but if he 's crossed, 

'T is but a single warrior lost : 

The rest, retreating as they came. 

Avoid defeat and death and shame.' 

XXXI. 

Ill could the haughty Dacre brook 

His brother warden's sage rebuke ; 

And yet his forward step he stayed, 320 

And slow and sullenly obeyed. 

But ne'er again the Border side 

Did these two lords in friendship ride ; 

And this slight discontent, men say, 

Cost blood upon another day. 

XXXII. 

The pursuivant-at-arms again 

Before the castle took his stand ; 
His trumpet called with parleying strain 

The leaders of the Scottish band ; 
And he defied, in Musgrave's right, 530 

Stout Deloraine to single fight. 



84 LA V OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto iv. 

A gauntlet at their feet he laid, 
And thus the terms of fight he said : 
' If in the lists good Musgrave's sword 

Vanquish the Knight of Deloraine, 
Your youthful chieftain, Branksome's lord. 

Shall hostage for his clan remain ; 
If Deloraine foil good Musgrave, 
The boy his liberty shall have. 

Howe'er it falls, the English band, 540 

Unharming Scots, by Scots unharmed. 
In peaceful march, like men unarmed. 

Shall straight retreat to Cumberland.' 



XXXIII. 

Unconscious of the near relief, 

The proffer pleased each Scottish chief. 

Though much the Ladye sage gainsaid ; 
For though their hearts were brave and true, 
From Jedwood's recent sack they knew 

How tardy was the Regent's aid : 
And you may guess the noble dame 55° 

Durst not the secret prescience own, 
Sprung from the art she might not name, 

By which the coming help was known. 
Closed was the compact, and agreed 
That lists should be enclosed with speed 

Beneath the casde on a lawn : 
They fixed the morrow for the strife, 
On foot, with Scottish axe and knife, 

At the fourth hour from peep of dawn ; 
When Deloraine, from sickness freed, 560 

Or else a champion in his stead. 
Should for himself and chieftain stand 
Against stout Musgrave, hand to hand. 



CANTO IV. LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 85 



XXXIV. 



570 



I know right well that in their lay 
Full many minstrels sing and say 

Such combat should be made on horse, 
On foaming steed, in full career, 
With brand to aid, whenas the spear 

Should shiver in the course : 
But he, the jovial harper, taught 
Me, yet a youth, how it was fought. 

In guise which now I say ; 
He knew each ordinance and clause 
Of Black Lord Archibald's battle-laws, 

In the old Douglas' day. 
He brooked not, he, that scoffing tongue 
Should tax his minstrelsy with wrong, 

Or call his song untrue : 
For this, when they the goblet plied. 
And such rude taunt had chafed his pride, 580 

The Bard of Reull he slew. 
On Teviot's side in fight they stood. 
And tuneful hands were stained with blood 
Where still the thorn's white branches wave, 
Memorial o'er his rival's grave. 

XXXV. 

Why should I tell the rigid doom 
That dragged my master to his tomb ; 

How Ousenam's maidens tore their hair, 
Wept till their eyes were dead and dim, 
And wrung their hands for love of him ' 590 

Who died at Jedwood Air? 
He died ! — his scholars, one by one, 
To the cold silent grave are gone ; 



S6 LA V OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. canto iv. 

And I, alas ! survive alone, 
To muse o'er rivalries of yore, 
And grieve that I shall hear no more 
The strains, with envy heard before ; 
For, with my minstrel brethren fled. 
My jealousy of song is dead. 



He paused : the listening dames again 600 

Applaud the hoary Minstrel's strain. 

With many a word of kindly cheer, — 

In pity half, and half sincere, — 

Marvelled the Duchess how so well 

His legendary song could tell 

Of ancient deeds, so long forgot ; 

Of feuds, whose memory was not ; 

Of forests, now laid waste and bare ; 

Of towers, which harbor now the hare ; 

Of manners, long since changed and gone ; 610 

Of chiefs, who under their gray stone 

So long had slept that fickle Fame 

Had blotted from her rolls their name. 

And twined round some new minion's head 

The fading wreath for which they bled : 

In sooth, 'twas strange this old man's verse 

Could call them from their marble hearse. 

The harper smiled, well pleased ; for ne'er 

Was flattery lost on poet's ear. 

A simple race ! they waste their toil 620 

For the vain tribute of a smile ; 

E'en when in age their flame expires, 

Her dulcet breath can fan its fires : 



CANTO IV, 



LAY OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. 



S7 



Their drooping fancy wakes at praise, 
And strives to trim the short-Hved blaze. 

Smiled then, well pleased, the aged man, 
And thus his tale continued ran. 





The bands that moved to Branksome's aid (v. 48). 



CANTO FIFTH. 



Call it not vain : — they do not err, 
Who say that when the poet dies 

Mute Nature mourns her worshipper 
And celebrates his obsequies ; 

Who say tall cliff and cavern lone 

For the departed bard make moan ; 

That mountains weep in crystal rill ; 

That flowers in tears of balm distil ; 

Through his loved groves that breezes sigh, 

And oaks in deeper groan reply, 

And rivers teach their rushing wave 

To murmur dirges round his grave. 



CANTO V. LA Y OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 89 



II. 

Not that, in sooth, o'er mortal urn 

Those things inanimate can mourn, 

But that the stream, the wood, the gale, 

Is vocal with the plaintive wail 

Of those who, else forgotten long, 

Lived in the poet's faithful song, 

And, with the poet's parting breath, 

Whose memory feels a second death. 20 

The maid's pale shade, who wails her lot, 

That love, true love, should be forgot, 

From rose and hawthorn shakes the tear 

Upon the gentle minstrel's bier : 

The phantom knight, his glory fled, 

Mourns o'er the field he heaped with dead. 

Mounts the wild blast that sweeps amain 

And shrieks along the battle-plain ; 

The chief, whose antique crownlet long 

Still sparkled in the feudal song, 30 

Now, from the mountain's misty throne. 

Sees, in the thanedom once his own, 

His ashes undistinguished lie. 

His place, his power, his memory die ; 

His groans the lonely caverns fill, 

His tears of rage impel the rill ; 

All mourn the minstrel's harp unstrung, 

Their name unknown, their praise unsung. 

III. 

Scarcely the hot assault was stayed. 
The terms of truce were scarcely made, 40 

When they could spy, from Branksome's towers. 
The advancing march of martial powers. 



90 LA V OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto v. 

Thick clouds of dust afar appeared, 

And trampling steeds were faintly lieard ; 

Bright spears above the columns dun 

Glanced momentary to the sun ; 

And feudal banners fair displayed 

The bands that mov^ed to Branksome's aid. 

IV. 

Vails not to tell each hardy clan, 

From the fair Middle Marches came ; 50 

The Bloody Heart blazed in the van, 

Announcing Douglas, dreaded name ! 
Vails not to tell what steeds did spurn. 
Where the Seven Spears of Wedderburne 

Their men in battle-order set. 
And Swinton laid the lance in rest 
That tamed of yore the sparkling crest 

Of Clarence's Plantagenet. 
Nor list I say what hundreds more. 
From the rich Merse and Lammermore, 60 

And Tweed's fair borders, to the war, 
Beneath the crest of Old Dunbar 

And Hepburn's mingled banners, come 
Down the steep mountain glittering far, 

And shouting still, ' A Home ! a Home ! ' 

V. 

Now squire and knight, from Branksome sent. 
On many a courteous message went : 
To every chief and lord they paid 
Meet thanks for prompt and powerful aid, 
And told them how a truce was made, 70 

And how a day of fight was ta'en 
'Twixt Musgrave and stout Deloraine ; 
And how the Ladye prayed them dear 



CANTO V. LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 9 1 

That all would stay the fight to see, 
And deign, in love and courtesy, 

To taste of Branksome cheer. 
Nor, while they bade to feast each Scot, 
Were England's noble lords forgot. 
Himself, the hoary seneschal, 

Rode forth, in seemly terms to call 80 

Those gallant foes to Branksome Hall. 
Accepted Howard, than whom knight 
Was never dubbed, more bold in fight, 
Nor, when from war and armor free, 
More famed for stately courtesy ; 
But angry Dacre rather chose 
In his pavilion to repose. 



vr. 

Now, noble dame, perchance you ask 

How these two hostile armies met, 
Deeming it were no easy task 90 

To keep the truce which here was set ; 
Where martial spirits, all on fire, 
Breathed only blood and mortal ire. 
By mutual inroads, mutual blows, 
By habit, and by nation, foes. 

They met on Teviot's strand ; 
They met and sate them mingled down. 
Without a threat, without a frown, 

As brothers meet in foreign land : 
The hands, the spear that lately grasped, 100 

Still in the mailed gauntlet clasped. 

Were interchanged in greeting dear ; 
Visors were raised and faces shown. 
And many a friend, to friend made known, 

Partook of social cheer. 



92 lAV OF THE LAST MLWS'TREL, canto V. 

Some (.Iroxc the jollv bowl about ; 

With diee and draugiits some cliased the day ; 
Ami some, with many a merry shout, 
In riot, revelry, and rout. 

Pursued the football play. no 

VII. 

Vet, be it known, had bugles blown 

Or sign ot' war been seen, 
Those bands, so foir together ranged, 
Those hands, so frankly interehanged, 

Had dyed with gore the green : 
The merry shout by Teviot-side 
Had sunk in war-cries wild and wide, 

And in the groan of death ; 
And whingers, now in friendship bare. 
The social meal to part and share, lao 

Had found a bloody sheath. 
'Twixt truee and war, such sudden change 
Was not infrequent, nor held strange, 

In the old Border-day ; 
But yet on Branksome's towers and town, 
In peacet'ul merriment, sunk down 

The sun's declining ray. 

VIII. 

The blithesome signs of wassail gay 

Decayed not with the dying day ; 

Soon through the latticed windows tall 130 

Of lofty Branksome's lordly hall, 

Divided square by shat'ts of stone. 

Huge flakes of ruddy lustre shone ; 

Nor less the gilded rafters rang 

With merry harp and beakers' clang \ 

And frequent, on the darkening plain. 



CANTO V. 



LA Y OF THE LAST MINSl'REL. 



93 



■^*'. 







Loud hollo, whoop, or whistle ran. 
As bands, their stragglers to regain. 

Give the shrill watchword of their clan 
And revellers, o'er their bowls, proclaim 
Douglas' or Dacre's conquering name. 



140 



IX. 



Less frequent heard, and fainter still. 
At length the various clamors died, 

And you might hear from liranksome hill 
No sound but Teviot's rushing tide ; 

Save when the changing sentinel 

The challenge of his watch could tell ; 

And save where, through the dark profound, 

The clanging axe and hammer's sound 

Rung from the nether lawn ; 



150 



94 LAY OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. canto v. 

For many a busy hand toiled there, 
Strong pales to shape and beams to square, 
The lists' dread barriers to prepare 
Against the morrow's dawn. 

X. 

Margaret from hall did soon retreat. 

Despite the dame's reproving eye ; 
Nor marked she, as she left her seat, 

Full many a stifled sigh : 
For many a noble warrior strove 
To win the Flower of Teviot's love, i6o 

And many a bold ally. 
With throbbing head and anxious heart. 
All in her lonely bower apart. 

In broken sleep she lay. 
By times, from silken couch she rose ; 
While yet the bannered hosts repose, 

She viewed the dawning day : 
Of all the hundreds sunk to rest, 
First woke the loveliest and the best. 

XI. 

She gazed upon the inner court, 170 

Which in the tower's tall shadow lay, 
Where coursers' clang and stamp and snort 

Had rung the livelong yesterday : 
Now still as death ; till stalking slow, — 

The jingling spurs announced his tread, — 
A stately warrior passed below ; 

But when he raised his plumed head — 
Blessed Mary ! can it be ? — 
Secure, as if in Ousenam bowers, 
He walks through Branksome's hostile towers, 180 
With fearless step and free. 



CANTO V. LAY OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. 95 

She dared not sign, she dared not speak — 
O, if one page's slumbers break. 

His blood the price must pay ! 
Not all the pearls Queen Mary wears, 
Not Margaret's yet more precious tears, 

Shall buy his life a day. 

XII. 

Yet was liis hazard small ; for well 
You may bethink you of the spell 

Of that sly urchin page : 190 

This to his lord he did impart, 
And made him seem, by glamour art, 

A knight from Hermitage. 
Unchallenged, thus, the warder's post. 
The court, unchallenged, thus he crossed, 

For all the vassalage ; 
But O, what magic's quaint disguise 
Could blind fair Margaret's azure eyes ! 

She started from her seat ; 
While with surprise and fear she strove, 200 

And both could scarcely master love — 

Lord Henry 's at her feet. 

XIII. 

Oft have I mused what purpose bad 
That foul malicious urchin had 

To bring this meeting round, 
For happy love 's a heavenly sight. 
And by a vile malignant sprite 

In such no joy is found ; 
And oft I 've deemed, perchance he thought 
Their erring passion might have wrought 210 

Sorrow and sin and shame, 



96 LA V OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. canto v. 

And death to Cranstoun's gallant Knight, 
And to the gentle Ladye bright 

Disgrace and loss of fame. 
But earthly spirit could not tell 
The heart of them that loved so well. 
True love 's the gift which God has giveu 
To man alone beneath the heaven : 
It is not fantasy's hot fire, 

Whose wishes, soon as granted, fly ; 220 

It liveth not in fierce desire. 

With dead desire it doth not die ; 
It is the secret sympathy. 
The silver link, the silken tie. 
Which heart to heart, and mind to mind, 
In body and in soul can bind. — 
Now leave we Margaret and her knight, 
To tell you of the approaching fight. 

XIV. 

Their warning blasts the bugles blew, 

The pipe's shrill port aroused each clan ; 230 

In haste the deadly strife to view. 

The trooping warriors eager ran : 
Thick round the lists their lances stood, 
Like blasted pines in Ettrick wood ; 
To Branksome many a look they threw, 
The combatants' approach to view. 
And bandied many a word of boast 
About the knight each favored most. 

XV. 

Meantime full anxious was the dame ; 

For now arose disputed claim 240 

Of who should fight for Deloraine, 



t>' 



'Twixt Harden and 'twixt Thirlestane. 



CANTO V. LAY OF THE LAS 7' MLNSTREL. 97 

They gan to reckon kin and rent, 
And frowning brow on brow was bent : 

But yet not long the strife — for, lo ! 
Himself, the Knight of Deloraine, 
Strong, as it seemed, and free from pain. 

In armor sheathed from top to toe. 
Appeared and craved the combat due. 
The dame her charm successful knew, 250 

And the fierce chiefs their claims withdrew. 

XVI. 

When for the lists they sought the plain, 
The stately Ladye's silken rein 

Did noble Howard hold ; 
Unarmed by her side he walked, 
And much in courteous phrase they talked 

Of feats of arms of old. 
Costly his garb — his Flemish ruff 
Fell o'er his doublet, shaped of buff, 

With satin slashed and lined ; 260 

Tawny his boot, and gold his spur, 
His cloak was all of Poland fur, 

His hose with silver twined ; 
His Bilboa blade, by Marchmen felt, 
Hung in a broad and studded belt ; 
Hence, in rude phrase, the Borderers still 
Called noble Howard Belted Will. 

XVII. 

Behind Lord Howard and the dame 
Fair Margaret on her palfrey came. 

Whose footcloth swept the ground ; 270 

White was her wimple and her veil, 
And her loose locks a chaplet pale 

Of whitest roses bound ; 
7 



98 J.AY 01' THE l.Asr MIXSTKEL. canto v. 

The lordly Angus, by Ikm' side. 

In txnutosy to choor her tried ; 

Without his aid. hor hanil in \ aiu 

\\a\\ strove to guiilo \\c\ Inoidtunl rein. 

Ho doomed sho shuddorod at the sight 

Of warriors mot ior uuMlal light ; 

l>ut causo \^{ terror, all unguosseil, aSo 

Was tlulteriug in her gentle breast, 

When, in tlieir ehairs ot" crimson placed. 

The dame and she the barriers graced. 

xviii. 
Pri/.e of the field, the young Buccleuch 
An I'nglish knight led fort 1 1 to view ; 
Scarce rued the boy his present i^light, 
So nuieh he longed to see tlie fight. 
^\'ithin the lists in knightly pride 
High Home and haughtv Haere ride ; 
Their leading stalls of steel thev wield, 190 

As marshals o^ the morlal i'leld. 
While to each knight their care assigned 
Like vantage of the sun and wind. 
Then heralds hoarse did louil jiroclaini. 
In King and Queen and \\'arden's name. 

That none, while lasts the strit'e. 
Should dare, by look or sign or word. 
Aid to a champion to alTord, 

C^n j>eril of his life ; 
And not a breath the silence broke 300 

Till thus the alternate heralds spoke : — 

XIX. 

ENGLISH HERALD. 

* Hero standeth Richard of Musgrave. 
Good knight and true, and freely born, 



CANTO V. 



LAV OF 77//': /.AST MINST/iEL. 



99 




Amends from Delorainc to crave, 

For foul despiteous scathe and scorn. 

He sayeth that William of Deloraine 
Is traitor false l)y Border laws ; 

This with his sword he will maintain, 
So help him God and his good cause ! 

XX. 



SCOTl'ISH HERALD. 

* Here standeth William of Deloraine, 
Good knight and true, of noble strain, 
Who sayeth that foul treason's stain, 
Since he bore arms, ne'er soiled his coat ; 

And that, so help him God above ! 

He will on Musgrave's body prove 
He lies most foully in his throat.' 



310 



LORD DACRE. 



' Forward, brave champions, to the fight ! 
Sound trumpets ! ' 



lOO LA V OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto v. 



LORD HOME. 

' God defend the right ! ' — 
Then, Teviot, how thine echoes rang, 
When bugle-sound and trumpet-clang 320 

Let loose the martial foes, 
And in mid-list, with shield poised high, 
And measured step and wary eye, 

The combatants did close ! 

XXI. 

Ill would it suit your gentle ear. 

Ye lovely listeners, to hear 

How to the axe the helms did sound. 

And blood poured down from many a wound ; 

For desperate was the strife and long, 

And either warrior fierce and strong. 330 

But, were each dame a listening knight, 

I well could tell how warriors fight ; 

For I have seen war's lightning flashing, 

Seen the claymore with bayonet clashing, 

Seen through red blood the war-horse dashing. 

And scorned, amid the reeling strife. 

To yield a step for death or life. 

XXII. 

'T is done, 't is done ! that fatal blow 
Has stretched him on the bloody plain ; 

He strives to rise — brave Musgrave, no ! 340 

Thence never shalt thou rise again ! 

He chokes in blood — some friendly hand 

Undo the visor's barred band, 

Unfix the gorget's iron clasp. 

And give him room for life to gasp ! — 



CANTO V. LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 10 1 

O, bootless aid ! — haste, holy friar, 

Haste, ere the sinner shall expire ! 

Of all his guilt let him 1)e shriven, 

And smooth his path from earth to heaven ! 

XXIII. 

In haste the holy friar sped ; — ss© 

His naked foot was dyed with red,. 

As through the lists he ran ; 
Unmindful of the shouts on high 
That hailed the conqueror's victory, 

He raised the dying man ; 
Loose waved his silver beard and hair. 
As o'er him he kneeled down in prayer ; 
And still the crucifix on high 
He holds before his darkening eye ; 
And still he bends an anxious ear, 360 

His faltering penitence to hear ; 

Still props him from the bloody sod, 
Still, even when soul and body part, 
Pours ghostly comfort on his heart. 

And bids him trust in God ! 
Unheard he prays ; — the death-pang 's o'er ! 
Richard of Musgrave breathes no more. 

XXIV. 

As if exhausted in the fight, 

Or musing o'er the piteous sight, 

The silent victor stands j 37° 

His beaver did he not unclasp, 
Marked not the shouts, felt not the grasp 

Of gratulating hands. 
When lo ! strange cries of wild surprise, 
Mingled with seeming terror, rise 

Among the Scottish bands ; 



I02 LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto V. 

And all, amid the thronged array, 

In panic haste gave open way 

To a half-naked ghastly man, 

Who downward from the castle ran : 380 

He crossed the barriers at a bound, 

And wild and haggard looked around, 

As dizzy and in pain ; 
And all upon the armed ground 

Knew William of Deloraine ! 
Each ladye sprung from seat with speed ; 
Vaulted each marshal from his steed ; 

' And who art thou,' they cried, 
' Who hast this batde fought and won ? ' 
His plumed helm was soon undone — 390 

' Cranstoun of Teviot-side ! 
For this fair prize I 've fought and won,' — 
And to the Ladye led her son. 

XXV. 

Full oft the rescued boy she kissed. 

And often pressed him to her breast. 

For, under all her dauntless show, 

Her heart had throbbed at every blow ; 

Yet not Lord Cranstoun deigned she greet, 

Though low he kneeled at her feet. 

Me lists not tell what words were made, 400 

What Douglas, Home, and Howard said — - 

For Howard was a generous foe — 
And how the clan united prayed 

The Ladye would the feud forego, 
And deign to bless the nuptial hour 
Of Cranstoun's lord and Teviot's Flower. 

XXVI. 

She looked to river, looked to hill. 
Thought on the Spirit's prophecy. 



CANTO V. LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 103 

Then broke her silence stern and still : 

'Not yoUj but Fate, has vanquished me ; 410 

Their influence kindly stars may shower 
On Teviot's tide and Branksome's tower, 

For pride is quelled and love is free.' 
She took fair Margaret by the hand, 
Who, breathless, trembling, scarce might stand ; 

That hand to Cranstoun's lord gave she : 
' As I am true to thee and thine, 
Do thou be true to me and mine ! 

This clasp of love our bond shall be, 
For this is your betrothing day, 420 

And all these noble lords shall stay. 

To grace it with their company.' 

XXVII. 

All as they left the listed plain. 

Much of the story she did gain : 

How Cranstoun fought with Deloraine, 

And of his page, and of the book 

Which from the wounded knight he took ; 

And how he sought her castle high. 

That morn, by help of gramarye ; 

How, in Sir William's armor dight, 430 

Stolen by his page, while slept the knight. 

He took on him the single fight. 

But half his tale he left unsaid, 

And lingered till he joined the maid. — 

Cared not the Ladye to betray 

Her mystic arts in view of day ; 

But well she thought, ere midnight came, 

Of that strange page the pride to tame. 

From his foul hands the book to save, 

And send it back to Michael's grave. — 440 

Needs not to tell each tender word 



T04 LAY OF THE LAST MLiVSTREL. canto v. 

'Twixt Margaret and 'twixt Cranstoun's lord ; 

Nor how she told of former woes, 

And how her bosom fell and rose 

While he and Musgra\'e bandied blows. — 

Needs not these lovers' joys to tell ; 

One day, fair maids, you '11 know them well. 

XXVIII. 

William of Deloraine some chance 
Had wakened from his deathlike trance, 

And taught that in the listed plain 450 

Another, in his arms and shield, 
Against fierce Musgrave axe did wield, 

Under the name of Deloraine. 
Hence, to the field unarmed he ran, 
And hence his presence scared the clan, 
Who held him for some fleeting wraith. 
And not a man of blood and breath. 
Not much this new ally he loved, 
Yet, when he saw v/hat hap had proved. 

He greeted him right heartilie : _ 460 

He would not waken old debate, 
For he was void of rancorous hate. 

Though rude and scant of courtesy ; 
In raids he spilt but seldom blood, 
Unless when men-at-arms withstood, 
Or, as was meet, for deadly feud. 
He ne'er bore grudge for stalwart blow, 
Ta'en in fair fight from gallant foe. 
And so 't was seen of him e'en now. 

When on dead Musgrave he looked down : 470 
Grief darkened on his rugged brow. 

Though half disguised with a frown ; 
And thus, while sorrow bent his head, 
His foeman's epitaph he made : 



CANTO V. LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 105 

XXIX. 

' Now, Richard Musgrave, liest thou here, 

I ween, my deadly enemy ; 
For, if I slew thy brother dear, 

Thou slew'st a sister's son to me ; 
And when I lay in dungeon dark 

Of Naworth Castle long months three, 480 

Till ransomed for a thousand mark, 

Dark Musgrave, it was long of thee. 
And, Musgrave, could our fight be tried, 

And thou wert now alive, as I, 
No mortal man should us divide, 

Till one, or both of us, did die : 
Yet rest thee God ! for well I know 
I ne'er shall find a nobler foe. 
In all the northern counties here. 
Whose word is Snaffle, spur, and spear, 490 

Thou wert the best to follow gear. 
'T was pleasure, as we looked behind. 
To see how thou the chase couldst wind. 
Cheer the dark bloodhound on his way, 
And with the bugle rouse the fray ! 
I 'd give the lands of Deloraine, 
Dark Musgrave were alive again.' 

XXX. 

So mourned he till Lord Dacre's band 

Were bowning back to Cumberland. 

They raised brave Musgrave from the field 500 

And laid him on his bloody shield ; 

On levelled lances, four and four. 

By turns, the noble burden bore. 

Before, at times, upon the gale 

Was heard the Minstrel's plaintive wail ; 



lo6 LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto v. 

Behind, four priests in sable stole 

Sung requiem for the warrior's soul ; 

Around, the horsemen slowly rode ; 

With trailing pikes the spearmen trode ; 

And thus the gallant knight they bore 510 

Through Liddesdale to Leven's shore, 

Thence to Holme Coltrame's lofty nave, 

And laid him in his father's grave. 



The harp's wild notes, though hushed the song. 

The mimic march of death prolong ; 

Now seems it far, and now a-near. 

Now meets, and now eludes the ear, 

Now seems some mountain side to sweep, 

Now faintly dies in valley deep, 

Seems now as if the Minstrel's wail, 520 

Now the sad requiem, loads the gale ; 

Last, o'er the warrior's closing grave, 

Rung the full choir in choral stave. 

After due pause, they bade him tell 
Why he, who touched the harp so well. 
Should thus, with ill-rewarded toil. 
Wander a poor and thankless soil. 
When the more generous Southern Land 
Would well requite his skilful hand. 

The aged harper, howsoe'er 530 

His only friend, his harp, was dear. 

Liked not to hear it ranked so high 

Above his flowing poesy : 

Less liked he still that scornful jeer 

Misprized the land he loved so dear ; 

High was the sound as thus again 

The bard resumed his minstrel strain. 




KIRKWALL. 



CANTO SIXTH. 



Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, 
Who never to himself hath said, 

This is my own, my native land? 
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned, 
As home his footsteps he hath turned 

From wandering on a foreign strand ? 
If such there breathe, go, mark him well ; 
For him no minstrel raptures swell ; 
High though his titles, proud his name, 
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim, — 
Despite those titles, power, and pelf, 
The wretch, concentred all in self, 



io8 LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto vi. 

Living, shall forfeit fair renown, 
And, doubly dying, shall go down 
To the vile dust from whence he sprung, 
Unwept, unhonored, and unsung. 

II. 

O Caledonia, stern and wild, 

Meet nurse for a poetic child ! 

Land of brown heath and shaggy wood, 

Land of the mountain and the flood, 20 

Land of my sires ! what mortal hand 

Can e'er untie the filial band 

That knits me to thy rugged strand ! 

Still, as I view each well-known scene, 

Think what is now and what hath been, 

Seems as to me, of all bereft. 

Sole friends thy woods and streams were left ; 

And thus I love them better still, 

Even in extremity of ill. 

By Yarrow's stream still let me stray, 30 

Though none should guide my feeble way ; 

Still feel the breeze down Ettrick break, 

Although it chill my withered cheek ; 

Still lay my head by Teviot-stone, 

Though there, forgotten and alone. 

The bard may draw his parting groan. 

III. 

Not scorned like me, to Branksome Hall 

The minstrels came at festive call ; 

Trooping they came from near and far, 

The jovial priests of mirth and war ; ^o 

Alike for feast and fight prepared. 

Battle and banquet both they shared. 



CANTO VI. LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL, 109 

Of late, before each martial clan 

They blew their death-note in the van, 

But now for every merry mate 

Rose the portcullis' iron grate ; 

They sound the pipe, they strike the string, 

They dance, they revel, and they sing, 

Till the rude turrets shake and ring. 

IV. 

Me lists not at this tide declare 50, 

The splendor of the spousal rite, 
How mustered in the chapel fair 

Both maid and matron, squire and knight ; 
Me lists not tell of owches rare, 
Of mantles green, and braided hair, 
And kirtles furred with miniver ; 
What plumage waved the altar round, 
How spurs and ringing chainlets sound : 
And hard it were for bard to speak 
The changeful hue of Margaret's cheek, 60 

That lovely hue which comes and flies. 
As awe and shame alternate rise ! 

V. 

Some bards have sung, the Ladye high 

Chapel or altar came not nigh. 

Nor durst the rites of spousal grace, 

So much she feared each holy place. 

False slanders these : — I trust right well. 

She wrought not by forbidden spell, 

For mighty words and signs have power 

O'er sprites in planetary hour ; 7° 

Yet scarce I praise their venturous part 

Who tamper with such dangerous art. 



no LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto vi. 

But this for faithful truth I say, — 

The Ladye by the altar stood, 
Of sable velvet her array, 

And on her head a crimson hood, 
With pearls embroidered and entwined. 
Guarded with gold, with ermine lined ; 
A merlin sat upon her wrist. 
Held by a leash of silken twist. 80 

VI. 

The spousal rites were ended soon ; 

'T was now the merry hour of noon, 

And in the lofty arched hall 

Was spread the gorgeous festival. 

Steward and squire, with heedful haste, 

Marshalled the rank of every guest ; 

Pages, with ready blade, were there, 

The mighty meal to carve and share : 

O'er capon, heron-shew, and crane, 

And princely ])eacock's gilded train, 90 

And o'er the boar-head, garnished brave. 

And cygnet from Saint Mary's wave, 

O'er ptarmigan and venison, 

The priest had spoke his benison. 

Then rose the riot and the din. 

Above, beneath, without, within ! 

For, from the lofty balcony, 

Rung trumpet, shalm, and psaltery : 

Their clanging bowls old warriors quaffed. 

Loudly they spoke and loudly laughed ; 100 

Whispered young knights, in tone more mild, 

To ladies fair, and ladies smiled. 

The hooded hawks, high perched on beam. 

The clamor joined with whistling scream, 



CANTO VI. LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. Ill 

And flapped their wings and shook dieir bells, 

In concert with the stag-hounds' yells. 

Round go the flasks of ruddy wine, 

From Bourdeaux, Orleans, or the Rhine ; 

Their tasks the busy sewers ply. 

And all is mirth and revelry. no 



VTI. 

The Cxoblin Page, omitting still 

No opportunity of ill. 

Strove now, while blood ran hot and high. 

To rouse debate and jealousy ; 

Till Conrad, Lord of Wolfenstein, 

By nature fierce, and warm with wine, 

And now in humor highly crossed 

About some steeds his band had lost. 

High words to words succeeding still. 

Smote with his gauntlet stout HunthiU, 120 

A hot and hardy Rutherford, 

Whom men called Dickon Draw-the-Sword. 

He took it on the page's saye, 

Hunthill had driven these steeds away. 

Then Howard, Home, and Douglas rose, 

The kindling discord to compose ; 

Stern Rutherford right little said. 

But bit his glove and shook his head. 

A fortnight thence, in Inglewood, 

Stout Conrad, cold, and drenched in blood, 130 

His bosom gored with many a wound. 

Was by a woodman's lyme-dog found : 

Unknown the manner of his death, 

Gone was his brand, both sword and sheath \ 

But ever from that time, 't was said, 

That Dickon wore a Cologne blade. 



112 LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto vi. 



VIII. 

The dwarf, who feared his master's eye 

Might his foul treachery espie, 

Now sought the castle buttery, 

Where many a yeoman, bold and free, 140 

Revelled as merrily and well 

As those that sat in lordly selle. 

Watt Tinlinn there did frankly raise 

The pledge to Arthur Fire-the-Braes ; 

And he, as by his breeding bound, 

To Howard's merrymen sent it round. 

To quit them, on the English side. 

Red Roland Forster loudly cried, 

* A deep carouse to yon fair bride ! ' 

At every pledge, from vat and pail, 15° 

Foamed forth in floods the nut-brown ale, 

While shout the riders every one ; 

Such day of mirth ne'er cheered their clan, 

Since old Buccleuch the name did gain. 

When in the cleuch the buck was ta'en. 

IX. 

The wily page, with vengeful thought, 

Remembered him of Tinlinn's yew. 
And swore it should be dearly bought 

That ever he the arrow drew. 
First, he the yeoman did molest 160 

With bitter gibe and taunting jest ; 
Told how he fled at Sol way strife. 
And how Hob Armstrong cheered his wife ; 
Then, shunning still his powerful arm. 
At unawares he wrought him harm ; 
From trencher stole his choicest cheer, 
Dashed from bis lips his can of beer ; 



CANTO VI. LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 113 

Then, to his knee sly creepmg on, 

With bodkin pierced him to the bone : 

The venomed wound and festering joint 170 

Long after rued that bodkin's point. 

The startled yeoman swore and spurned, 

And board and flagons overturned. 

Riot and clamor wild began ; 

Back to the hall the urchin ran, 

Took in a darkling nook his post. 

And grinned, and muttered, ' Lost ! lost ! lost ! ' 



X. 

By this, the dame, lest farther fray 

Should mar the concord of the day. 

Had bid the minstrels tune their lay. 180 

And first stepped forth old Albert Graeme, 

The minstrel of that ancient name : 

Was none who struck the harp so well 

Within the Land Debatable ; 

Well friended too, his hardy kin, 

Whoever lost, were sure to win ; 

They sought the beeves that made their broth 

In Scotland and in England both. 

In homely guise, as nature bade, 

His simple song the Borderer said. 190 



XI. 
ALBERT GR^ME. 

It was an English ladye bright, 

(The sun shines fair on Carlisle wall) 

And she would marry a Scottish knight, 
For Love will still be lord of all. 
8 



114 LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. CANTO vi. 

Blithely they saw the rising sun, 

When he shone fair on CarHsle wall ; 

But they were sad ere day was done, 
Though Love was still the lord of all. 

Her sire gave brooch and jewel fine, 

Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall ; 200 

Her brother gave but a flask of wine, 

P'or ire that Love was lord of all. 

For she had lands both meadow and lea. 
Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall ; 

And he swore her death, ere he would see 
A Scottish knight the lord of all ! 

XII. 

That wine she had not tasted well, 
(The sun shines fair on Carlisle wall) 

When dead, in her true love's arms, she fell, 

For Love was still the lord of all. 210 

He pierced her brother to the heart. 

Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall ; — 

So perish all would true love part, 
That Love may still be lord of all ! 

And then he took the cross divine, 

Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall, 

And died for her sake in Palestine, 
So Love was still the lord of all. 

Now all ye lovers, that faithful prove, 

(The sun shines fair on Carlisle wall) 220 

Pray for their souls who died for love, 

For Love shall still be lord of all 1 



CANTO VI. 



LA V OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



115 




CARLISLE. 



XIII. 

As ended Albert's simple lay, 

Arose a bard of loftier port, 
For sonnet, rhyme, and roundelay 

Renowned in haughty Henry's court : 
There rung thy harp, unrivalled long, 
Fitztraver of the silver song ! 
The gentle Surrey loved his lyre — 

Who has not heard of Surrey's fame ? 
His was the hero's soul of fire, 

And his the bard's immortal name, 
And his was love, exalted high 
By all the glow of chivalry. 



230 



XIV. 



They sought together climes afar. 
And oft, within some olive grove, 

When even came with twinkling star. 
They sung of Surrey's absent love. 



Ii6 LAY OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. canto vi. 

His step the Italian peasant stayed, 

And deemed that spirits from on high, 240 

Round where some hermit saint was laid, 

Were breathing heavenly melody ; 
So sweet did harp and voice combine 
To praise the name of Geraldine. 



XV. 

Fitztraver, O, what tongue may say 

The pangs thy faithful bosom knew, 
When Surrey of the deathless lay 

Ungrateful Tudor's sentence slew? 
Regardless of the tyrant's frown, 
His harp called wrath and vengeance down. 250 

He left, for Naworth's iron towers, 
Windsor's green glades and courtly bowers. 
And, faithful to his patron's name, 
With Howard still Fitztraver came ; 
Lord William's foremost favorite he, 
And chief of all his minstrelsy. 



XVI. 

FITZTRAVER. 

'T was All-souls' eve, and Surrey's heart beat high ; 

He heard the midnight bell with anxious start. 
Which told the mystic hour, approaching nigh, 

When wise Cornelius promised by his art 260 

To show to him the ladye of his heart. 
Albeit betwixt them roared the ocean grim ; 

Yet so the sage had hight to play his part. 
That he should see her form in life and limb. 
And mark if still she loved and still she thought of him. 



CANTO VI. LA V OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. 



117 




NAWORTH. 



XVII. 

Dark was the vaulted room of gramarye, 
To which the wizard led the gallant knight, 

Save that before a mirror, huge and high, 
A hallowed taper shed a glimmering light 
On mystic implements of magic might, 

On cross, and character, and talisman, 
And almagest, and altar, nothing bright ; 

For fitful was the lustre, pale and wan, 
As watch-hght by the bed of some departing man. 

■ XVIII. 

But soon, within that mirror huge and high, 
Was seen a self-emitted hght to gleam ; 

And forms upon its breast the earl gan spy. 
Cloudy and indistinct as feverish dream ; 



270 



Il8 LAV OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. caNTo Vi. 

Till, slow arranging and defined, they seem 
To form a lordly and a lofty room, 280 

Part lighted by a lamp with siher beam, 
Placed by a couch of Agra's silken loom, 
And part by moonshine pale, and part was hid in gloom. 

XIX. 

Fair all the pageant — but how passing fair 

The slender form which lay on couch of Ind ! 
O'er her white bosom strayed her hazel hair, 

Pale her dear cheek, as if for love she pined ; 

All in her night-robe loose she lay reclined. 
And pensive read from tablet eburnine 

Some strain that seemed her inmost soul to find : 290 
That favored strain was Surrey's raptured line, 
That fair and lovely form the Lady Geraldine. 

XX. 

Slow rolled the clouds upon the lovely form, 

And swept the goodly vision all away — 
So royal envy rolled the murky storm 

O'er my beloved Master's glorious day. 

Thou jealous, ruthless tyrant ! Heaven repay 
On thee, and on thy children's latest line. 

The wild caprice of thy despotic sway, 
The gory bridal bed, the plundered shrine, 300 

The murdered Surrey's blood, the tears of Geraldine ! 

XXI. 

Both Scots and Southern chiefs prolong 

Applauses of Fitztraver's song ; 

These hated Henry's name as death. 

And those still held the ancient faith. 

Then from his seat with lofty air 

Rose Harold, bard of brave Saint Clair, — 



CANTO VI. LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 119 

Saint Clair, who, feasting high at Home, 

Had with that lord to battle come. 

Harold was born where restless seas 310 

Howl round the storm-swept Orcades ; 

Where erst Saint Clairs held princely sway 

O'er isle and islet, strait and bay ; — 

Still nods their palace to its fall, 

Thy pride and sorrow, fair Kirkwall ! — 

Thence oft he marked fierce Pentland rave. 

As if grim Odin rode her wave. 

And watched the whilst, with visage pale 

And throbbing heart, the struggling sail ; 

For all of wonderful and wild 320 

Had rapture for the lonely child. 



XXII. 

And much of wild and wonderful 

In these rude isles might Fancy cull ; 

For thither came in times afar 

Stern Lochlin's sons of roving war. 

The Norsemen, trained to spoil and blood, 

Skilled to prepare the raven's food. 

Kings of the main their leaders brave. 

Their barks the dragons of the wave ; 

And there, in many a stormy vale, 330 

The Scald had told his wondrous tale, 

And many a Runic column high 

Had witnessed grim idolatry. 

And thus had Harold in his youth 

Learned many a Saga's rhyme uncouth, — 

Of that Sea-Snake, tremendous curled, 

Whose monstrous circle girds the world ; 

Of those dread Maids whose hideous yell 

Maddens the battle's bloody swell ; 



I20 LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto vi. 

Of chiefs who, guided through the gloom 340 

By the pale death -lights of the tomb, 

Ransacked the graves of warriors old, 

Their falchions wrenched from corpses' hold, 

Waked the deaf tomb with war's alarms. 

And bade the dead arise to arms ! 

With war and wonder all on flame, 

To Roslin's bowers young Harold came, 

Where, by sweet glen and greenwood tree, 

He learned a milder minstrelsy ; 

Yet something of the Northern spell 350 

Mixed with the softer numbers well. 



XXIII. 

HAROLD. 

O, listen, listen, ladies gay ! 

No haughty feat of arms I tell ; 
Soft is the note, and sad the lay, 

That mourns the lovely Rosabelle. 

' Moor, moor the barge, ye gallant crew ! 

And, gentle ladye, deign to stay ! 
Rest thee in. Castle Ravensheuch, 

Nor tempt the stormy hrth to-day. 

' The blackening wave is edged with white ; 360 

To inch and rock the sea-mews fly ; 
The fishers have heard the Water Sprite, 

Whose screams forebode that wreck is nigh. 

' Last night the gifted Seer did view 

A wet shroud swathed round ladye gay ; 

Then stay thee, fair, in Ravensheuch : 
Why cross the gloomy firth to-day ? ' 



CANTO VI. LA Y OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



121 




ROSLIN CASTLE. 



' 'T is not because Lord Lindesay's heir 
To-night at RosUn leads the ball, 

But that my ladye-raother there 
Sits lonely in her castle-hall. 

' 'T is not because the ring they ride, 
And Lindesay at the ring rides well, 

But that my sire the wine will chide, 
If 't is not filled by Rosabelle.' 

O'er Roslin all that dreary night 

A wondrous blaze was seen to gleam ; 

'T was broader than the watch-fire light, 
And redder than the bright moonbeam. 



370 



12 2 LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto vi. 

It glared on Roslin's castled rock, 380 

It ruddied all the copsevvood glen ; 

'T was seen from Dreyden's groves of oak, 
And seen from caverned Havvthornden. 

Seemed all on fire that chapel proud 
Where Roslin's chiefs uncoffined lie, 

Each baron, for a sable shroud. 
Sheathed in his iron panoply. 

Seemed all on fire within, around, 

Deep sacristy and altar's pale ; 
Shone every pillar foliage-bound. 

And glimmered all the dead men's mail. 



390 



Blazed battlement and pinnet high, 

Blazed every rose- carved buttress fair — 

So still they blaze when fate is nigh 
The lordly line of high Saint Clair. 

There are twenty of Roslin's barons bold 
Lie buried within that proud chapelle ; 

Each one the holy vault doth hold — 
But the sea holds lovely Rosabelle ! 

And each Saint Clair was buried there, 400 

With candle, with book, and with knell ; 

But the sea-caves rung and the wild winds sung 
The dirge of lovely Rosabelle. 

XXIV. 

So sweet was Harold's piteous lay, 

Scarce marked the guests the darkened hall, 

Though, long before the sinking day, 
A wondrous shade involved them all. 



CANTO VI. LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. I23 

It was not eddying mist or fog, 
Drained by the sun from fen or bog ; 

Of no eclipse had sages told ; 410 

And yet, as it came on apace, 
Each one could scarce his neighbor's face, 

Could scarce his own stretched hand behold. 
A secret horror checked the feast, 
And chilled the soul of every guest ; 
Even the high dame stood half aghast, 
She knew some evil on the blast ; 
The elfish page fell to the ground, 
And, shuddering, muttered, ' Found ! found ! found ! ' 



/ XXV. 

Then sudden through the darkened air 420 

A flash of lightning came ; 
So broad, so bright, so red the glare, 

The castle seemed on flame. 
Glanced every rafter of the hafl. 
Glanced every shield upon the wall ; 
Each trophied beam, each sculptured stone. 
Were instant seen and instant gone ; 
Full through the guests' bedazzled band 
Resistless flashed the levin-brand. 
And filled the hall with smouldering smoke, 430 

As on the elfish page it broke. 
It broke with thunder long and loud. 
Dismayed the brave, appalled the proud, — 

From sea to sea the larum rung ; 
On Berwick wall, and at Carlisle withal. 

To arms the startled warders sprung. 
When ended was the dreadful roar, 
The elfish dwarf was seen no more ! 



1 24 LAY OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. canto vi. 

XXVI. 

Some heard a voice in Branksome Hall, 

Some saw a sights not seen by all ; 440 

That dreadful voice was heard by some 

Cry, with loud summons, ' Gylbin, come ! ' 

And on the spot where burst the brand, 
Just where the page had flung him down. 

Some saw an arm, and some a hand, 
x'\nd some the waving of a gown. 
The guests in silence prayed and shook,- 
And terror dimmed each lofty look. 
But none of all the astonished train 
Was so dismayed as Deloraine : 450 

His blood did freeze, his brain did burn, 
'T was feared his mind would ne'er return ; 
For he was speechless, ghastly, wan, 
Like him of whom the story ran, • 
Who spoke the spectre-hound in Man. 
At length by jfits he darkly told, 
With broken hint and shuddering cold. 

That he had seen right certainly 
A shape with amice wrapped around, 
With a wrought Spanish baldric bound, 460 

Like pilgrim from beyond the sea ; 
And knew — but how it mattered not — 
It was the wizard, Michael Scott. 

xxvii. 

The anxious crowd, with horror pale. 
All trembling heard the wondrous tale : 
No sound was made, no word was spoke. 
Till noble Angus silence broke ; 
And he a solemn sacred plight 



CANTO VI. LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 125 

Did to Saint Bride of Douglas make, 

That he a pilgrimage would take 470 

To Melrose Abbey, for the sake 

Of Michael's restless sprite. 
Then each, to ease his troubled breast, 
To some blest saint his prayers addressed : 
Some to Saint Modan made their vows, 
Some to Saint Mary of the Lowes, 
Some to the Holy Rood of Lisle, 
Some to Our Lady of the Isle ; 
Each did his patron witness make 
That he such pilgrimage would take, 480 

And monks should sing and bells should toll, 
All for the weal of Michael's soul. 
While vows were ta'en and prayers were prayed, 
'T is said the noble dame, dismayed, 
Renounced for aye dark magic's aid. 

XXVIII. 

Nought of the bridal will I tell, 

Which after in short space befell ; 

Nor how brave sons and daughters fair 

Blessed Teviot's Flower and Cranstoun's heir : 

After such dreadful scene 't were vain 490 

To wake the note of mirth again. 

More meet it were to mark the day 

Of penitence and prayer divine. 
When pilgrim-chiefs, in sad array, 

Sought Melrose' holy shrine. 

XXIX. 

With naked foot, and sackcloth vest, 
And arms enfolded on his breast, 



126 LAY OF THE LAST MLNSTREL. canto vi. 

Did every pilgrim go ; 
The standers-by might hear uneath 
Footstep, or voice, or high-drawn breath, 500 

Through all the lengthened row : 
No lordly look nor martial stride. 
Gone was their glory, sunk their pride, 

Forgotten their renown ; 
Silent and slow, like ghosts, they glide 
To the high altar's hallowed side, 

And there they knelt them down. 
Above the suppliant chieftains wave 
The banners of departed brave ; 
Beneath the lettered stones were laid 510 

The ashes of their fathers dead ; 
From many a garnished niche around 
Stern saints and tortured martyrs frowned. 

XXX. 

And slow up the dim aisle afar, 
With sable cowl and scapular, 
And snow-white stoles, in order due, 
The holy fathers, two and two. 

In long procession came ; 
Taper and host and book they bare, 
And holy banner, flourished fair 520 

With the Redeemer's name. 
Above the prostrate pilgrim band 
The mitred abbot stretched his hand, 

And blessed them as they kneeled ; 
With holy cross he signed them all, 
And prayed they might be sage in hall 

And fortunate in field. 
Then mass was sung, and prayers were said, 
And solemn requiem for the dead ; 



CANTO VI. LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 127 

And bells tolled out their mighty peal 530 

For the departed spirit's weal ; 

And ever in the office close 

The hymn of intercession rose ; 

And far the echoing aisles prolong 

The awful burden of the song, 

Dies ir^, dies ilea, 
"" solvet s^clum in favilla, 

While the pealing organ rung. 

Were it meet with sacred strain 

To close my lay, so light and vain, S4o 

Thus the holy Fathers sung : 

Hgmn for tlje pcab. 

That day of wrath, that dreadful day, 
When heaven and earth shall pass away, 
What power shall be the sinner's stay ? 
How shall he meet that dreadful day? 

When, shrivelling like a parched scroll, 
The flaming heavens together roll, 
When louder yet, and yet more dread, 
Swells the high trump that wakes the dead ! 

O, on that day, that wrathful day, sso 

When man to judgment wakes from clay, 
Be Thou the trembling sinner's stay. 
Though heaven and earth shall pass away ! 



Hushed is the harp — the Minstrel gone. 
And did he wander forth alone ? 
Alone, in indigence and age. 
To linger out his pilgrimage ? 



128 LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. canto vi. 

No : close beneath proud Newark's tower 

Arose the Minstrel's lowly bower, 

A shiiple hut ; but there was seen 560 

The little garden hedged with green, 

The cheerful hearth, and lattice clean. 

There sheltered wanderers, by the blaze, 

Oft heard the tale of other days ; 

For much he loved to ope his door, 

And give the aid he begged before. 

So passed the winter's day ; but still, 

When summer smiled on sweet Bowhill, 

And July's eve, with balmy breath, 

Waved the blue-bells on Newark heath, 570 

When throstles sung in Harehead-shaw, 

And corn was green on Carterhaugh, 

And flourished, broad, Blackandro's oak, 

The aged harper's soul awoke ! 

Then would he sing achievements high 

And circumstance of chivalry. 

Till the rapt traveller would stay. 

Forgetful of the closing day ; 

And noble youths, the strain to hear, 

Forsook the hunting of the deer ; sSo 

And Yarrow, as he rolled along, 

Bore burden to the Minstrel's song. 




NOTES. 



ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE NOTES, 

A. S., Anglo-Saxon. 

Cf. (confer), compare. 

F. Q., Spenser's Faerie Qiieene. 

fol., following. 

Fr., French. 

Id. {idevi), the same. 

Imp. Did., Ogilvie's Itnperial Dictio7Lary (Century Co.'s cd., New York, 1883). 

Lockhart, J. G. Lockhart's ed. of Scott's poems (various issues). 

M., W. Minto's " Clarendon Press " ed. oU.ay (Oxford, 18S6). 

Matzner, English Gramtnar, trans, bj' Grece (London, 1S74). 

P., J. S. Phillpotts's ed. oi Lay (London, n. d.). 

P. L., Milton's Paradise Lost. 

Schmidt, A. Schmidt's Shakespeare-Lexicon (Berlin, 1874). 

Shakes. Gr., Abbott's ShakesJ>earia?t Grammar (3d ed.). 

Skeat, W. W. Skeat's Etymological Dictio}iary (Harper's ed. , 1882). 

Wb., Webster's Dictionary (revised quarto ed. of 1879). 

Wore, Worcester's Dictionary (quarto ed.). 

The abbreviations of the names of Shakespeare's plays will be readily understood. 
The line-numbers are those of the "Globe" edition. 

The references to the Lady of the Lake and Marmio7i are to Rolfe's eds. 



NOTES. 




Newark's stately tower (introd. 27). 



INTRODUCTION. 



The Lay was first published early in January, 1805, in " a magnificent 
quarto," the price being 25 shillings (about $6.25 in Federal' money), 
and the edition of 750 copies was speedily exhausted. An octavo edi- 
tion of 1500 copies followed, which was sold within the year, and 4250 
copies more during the next year. Up to 1830 the sales had amounted 
to 44000 copies. 

The poem was dedicated " to the right honorable Charles, Earl of 
Dalkeith," and had the following preface : — 



132 NOTES. 

The Poem, now offered to the Public, is intended to illustrate the 
customs and manners which anciently prevailed on the Borders of 
England and Scotland. The inhabitants, living in a state partlv pasto- 
ral and partly warlike, and combining habits of constant depredation 
w^ith the inliuence of a rude spirit of chivalry, were often engaged in 
scenes, highly susceptible of poetical ornament. As the description of 
scenery and manners was more the object of the Author than a com- 
bined and regular narrative, the plan of the Ancient Metrical Romance 
was adopted, which allows greater latitude in this respect than would 
be consistent with the dignity of a regular Poem. The same model 
offered other facilities, as it permits an occasional alteration of measure, 
which in some degree authorizes the change of rhythm in the text. 
The machinery also, ado|)ted from popular belief, would have seemed 
puerile in a I'oem which did not partake of the rudeness of the old 
Ballad, or Metrical Romance. 

For these reasons, the Poem was j^ut into the mouth of an ancient 
Minstrel, the last of the race, who, as he is supposed to have survived 
the Revolution, might have caught somewhat of the retinement of mod- 
ern poetry, without losing the simplicitv of his original model. The 
date of the Tale itself is about the middle of the sixteenth century, 
when most of the personages actually flourished. The time occupied 
by the action is Three Nights and Three Days. 

The edition of 1S30 contained the following "Introduction ": ^ 

A poem of nearly thirty years' standing may be supposed hardly to 
need an Introduction, since, without one, it has been able to keep itself 
afloat through the best part of a generation. Nevertheless, as, in the 
edition of the Waverley Novels now in course of publication, I have 
imposed on myself the task of saying something concerning the ]Hirpose 
and history of each, in their turn, I am desirous that the Poems for 
which I first received some marks of the public favor should also be 
accompanied with such scraps of their literary history as may be sup- 
posed to carry interest along with them. Even if I should be mistaken 
in thinking that the secret history of what was once so poi^ular may 
still attract jniblic attention and curiositv, it seems to me not without 
its use to record the manner and circumstances under which the pres- 
ent, and other Poems on the same plan, attained for a season an exten- 
sive reputation. 

I must resume the story of my literary labors at the period at which 
I broke off in the Essay on the Imitation of Popular Poetry,- when I 
had enjoyed the first gleam of public favor, by the success of the tirst 

' Printed here as slightly revised in April, 183 1. 

- In this essav, printed in the 1S30 edition of the Border Minstrelsy, Scott gives an 
account of his schoolboy attempts at writing verse, of his translations of lUirger's Zf;/^^^ 
and Dcr JJ'iidc yHi^^er (brought out in 179(1 under the title of William and Hclctty but 
" a dead loss" ti) tlie publishers), of his subsequent versions of sundry German dramas, 
of his lirst attempts at liallad-writing {Gleiifinlas and The Eve 0/ St. John, included in 
" Monk" Lew's's Tales of Wonder \\\ iSoi), and of his first literary success in the 
Border Minstrelsy of 1803. 



INTR OD C/C 770N. 1 3 3 

edition of the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. The second edition 
of that work, published in 1803, proved, in the language of the trade, 
rather a heavy concern. The demand in Scotland had been supplied 
by the first edition, and the curiosity of the English was not much 
awakened by poems in the rude garb of antiquity, accompanied with 
notes referring to the obscure feuds of barbarous clans, of whose very 
names civilized history was ignorant. It was, on the whole, one of 
those books which are more praised than they are read. 

At this time I stood personally in a different position from that which 
I occupied when I first dipt my desperate pen in ink for other purposes 
than those of my profession. In 1796, when I first published the trans- 
lations from Biuger, I was an insulated individual, with only my own 
wants to provide for, and having, in a great measure, my own inclina- 
tions alone to consult. In 1803, when the second edition of the Min- 
strelsy appeared, I had arrived at a period of life when men, however 
thoughtless, encounter duties and circumstances which press considera- 
tion and plans of life upon the most careless minds. I had been for 
some time married — was the father of a rising familv, and, though fully 
enabled to meet the consequent demands upon me, it was my duty and 
desire to place myself in a situation which would enable me to make 
honorable provision against the various contingencies of life. 

It may be readily supposed that the attempts which I had made in 
literature had been unfavorable to my success at the bar. The goddess 
Themis is at Edinburgh, and I suppose everywhere else, of a peculiarly 
jealous disposition. She will not re? .lily consent to share her author- 
ity, and sternly demands from her v'otaries, not only that real duty be 
carefully attended to and discha-ged, but that a certain air of business 
shall be observed even in th«" midst of total idleness. It is prudent, if 
not absolutely necessary, in a young barrister, to appear completely en- 
grossed by his profession; however destitute of employment he may in 
reality be, he ought to preserve, if possible, the appearance of full occu- 
pation, lie should, therefore, seem perpetually engaged among his 
law-papers, dusting them, as it were ; and, as Ovid advises the fair, 

" Si nullus erit pulvis, tanien excute nullum." 1 

Perhaps such extremity of attention is more especially required, con- 
sidering the great number of counsellors who are called to the bar, and 
how very small a proportion of them are finally disposed, or find en- 
couragement, to follow the law as a profession. Hence the number of 
deserters is so great that the least lingering look behind occasions a 
young novice to be set down as one of the intending fugitives. Cer- 
tain it is that the Scottish Themis was at this time peculiarly jealous 
of any flirtation with the Muses, on the part of those who had ranged 
themselves under her banners. This was probably owing to her con- 
sciousness of the superior attractions of her rivals. Of late, however, 
she has relaxed in some instances in this particular, an eminent example 
of which has been shewn in the case of my friend, Mr. Jeffrev, who, 
after long conducting one of the most influential literary periodicals of 

^ "If lUisl be none, yet brush that none away." 



134 NOTES. 

the age with unquestionable al)ility, has been, by the general consent 
of his brethren, recently elected to be their Dean of Faculty, or Presi- 
dent, — being the highest acknowledgment of his professional talents 
which they had it in their power to offer. ^ But this is an incident much 
beyond the ideas of a period of thirty years' distance, when a barrister 
who really possessed any turn for lighter literature was at as much 
pains to conceal it as if it had in reality been something to be ashamed 
of ; and I could mention more than one instance in which literature 
and society have suffered much loss that jurisprudence might be 
enriched. 

Such, however, was not my case; for the reader will not wonder that 
my open interference with matters of light literature diminished my 
employment in the weightier matters of the law. Nor did the solici- 
tors, upon whose choice the counsel takes rank in his profession, do 
me less than justice, by regarding others among my contemporaries as 
fitter to discharge the duty clue to their clients than a young man who 
was taken up with running after ballads, whether Teutonic or national. 
My profession and I, therefore, came to stand nearly upon the footing 
which honest Slender consoled himself on having established with Mis- 
tress Anne Page: "There was no great love between us at the begin- 
ning, and it pleased Heaven to decrease it on farther acquaintance." I 
became sensible that the time was come when I must either buckle my- 
self resolutely to the " toil by day, the lamp by night," renouncing all 
the Delilahs of my imagination, or bid adieu to the profession of the 
law and hold another course. 

I confess my own inclination revel ted from the more severe choice, 
which might have been deemed by mai:v the wiser alternative. As my 
transgressions had been numerous, my repentance must have been sig- 
nalized by unusual sacrifices. I ought to have menti( ned, that since 
my fourteenth or fifteenth year, my health, origimi]ly delicate, had be- 
come extremely robust. From infancy I had labored ijnder the infir- 
mity of a severe lameness, but, as I believe is usually the case vvith men 
o5 spirit who suffer under personal inconveniences of this nature, I had, 
smce the improvement of my health, in defiance of this incapacitating 
circumstance, distinguished myself by the endurance of toil on foot or 
horseback, having often walked thirty miles a-day, and rode upwards of 
a hundred, without resting. In this manner I made many pleasant 
journeys through parts of the country then not very accessible, gaining 
more amusement and instruction than I have been able to acquire since 
I have travelled in a more commodious manner. I practised most syl- 
van sports also, with some success and with great delight. But these 
pleasures must have been all resigned, or used with great moderation, 
had I determined to regain my sta'tion at the bar. It was even doubt- 
ful whether I could, with perfect character as a jurisconsult, retain a 
situation in a volunteer corps of cavalry which I then held. The 
threats of invasion were at this time instant and menacing; the call by 
Britain on her children was universal, and was answered by some, who, 

* Jeffrey, after conducting the EdhibnrgJi Review for twenty-seven years, withdrew 
from that office in 1S29, on being elected Dean of the Faculty of Advocates. 



IN TROD UCTION. 1 3 5 

like myself, consulted rather their desire than their ability to bear arms. 
My services, however, were found useful in assisting to maintain the dis- 
cipline of the corps, being the point on which their constitution rendered 
them most amenable to military criticism. In other respects, the squad- 
ron was a fine one, consisting chiefly of handsome men, well mounted 
and armed at their own expense. My attention to the corps took up a 
good deal of time ; and while it occupied many of the happiest hours 
of my life, it furnished an additional reason for my reluctance again to 
encounter the severe course of study indispensable to success in the 
juridical profession. 

On the other hand, my father, whose feelings might have been hurt 
by my quitting the bar, had been for two or three years dead, so that I 
had no control to thwart my own inclination; and my income being 
equal to all the comforts, and some of the elegancies, of life, I was not 
pressed to an irksome labor by necessity, that most powerful of mo- 
tives; consequently, I was the more easily seduced to choose the em- 
ployment which was most agreeable to me. This was yet the easier, 
that in 1800 I had obtained the preferment of Sheriff of Selkirkshire, 
about ;/^300 a-year in value, and which was the more agreeable to me 
as in that county I had several friends and relations. But I did not 
abandon the profession to which I had been educated without certain 
prudential resolutions, which, at the risk of some egotism, I will here 
mention ; not without the hope that they may be useful to young per- 
sons who may stand in circumstances similar to those in which I then 
stood. 

In the first place, upon considering the lives and fortunes of persons 
who had given themselves up to literature, or to the task of pleasing 
the public, it seemed to me that the circumstances which chiefly affected 
their happiness and character were those from which Horace has be- 
stowed upon authors the epithet of the Irritable Race. It requires no 
depth of philosophic reflection to perceive that the petty warfare of 
Pope with the Dunces of his period could not have been carried on 
without his suffering the most acute torture, such as a man must endure 
from musquitoes, by whose stings he suffers agony, although he can 
crush them in his grasp by myriads. Nor is it necessary to call to mem- 
ory the many humiliating instances in which men of the greatest genius 
have, to avenge some pitiful quarrel, made themselves ridiculous during 
their lives, to become the still more degraded objects of pity to future 
times. 

Upon the whole, as I had no pretension to the genius of the distin- 
guished persons who had fallen into such errors, I concluded there could 
be no occasion for imitating them in their mistakes, or what I consid- 
ered as such ; and, in adopting literary pursuits as the principal occupa- 
tion of my future life, I resolved, if possible, to avoid those weaknesses 
of temper which seemed to have most easily beset my more celebrated 
predecessors. 

With this view, it was my first resolution to keep as far as was in my 
power abreast of society, continuing to maintain my place in general 
company, without yielding to the very natural temptation of narrowing 
myself to what is called literary society. By doing so, I imagined I 



136 



NOTES. 



should escape the besetting sin of listening to language, which, from 
one motive or other, is apt to ascribe a very undue degree of conse- 
quence to literary pursuits, as if they were, indeed, the business, rather 
than the amusement, of life. The opposite course can only be com- 
pared to the injudicious conduct of one who pampers himself with cor- 
dial and luscious draughts, until he is unable to endure wholesome 
bitters. Like Gil Bias, therefore, I resolved to stick by the society of 
my comviis, instead of seeking that of a more literary cast, and to main- 
tain my general interest in what was going on around me, reserving the 
man of letters for the desk and the library. 

My second resolution was a corollary from the first. I determined 
that, without shutting my ears to the voice of true criticism, I would 
pay no regard to that which assumes the form of satire. I therefore 
resolved to arm myself with that triple brass of Horace, of which 
those of my profession are seldom held deficient, against all the roving 
warfare of satire, parody, and sarcasm ; to laugh if the jest was a good 
one ; or, if otherwise, to let it hum and buzz itself to sleep. 

It is to the observance of these rules (according to my best belief) 
that, after a life of thirty years engaged in literary labors of various 
kinds, I attribute my never having been entangled in any literary quar- 
rel or controversy; and, which is a still more pleasing result, that I 
have been distinguished by the personal friendship of my most approved 
contemporaries of all parties. 

I adopted, at the same time, another resolution, on which it may 
doubtless be remarked that it was -well for me that I had it in my 
power to do so, and that, therefore, it is a line of conduct which, de- 
pending upon accident, can be less generally applicable in other cases. 
Yet I fail not to record this part of my plan, convinced that, though it 
may not be in every one's power to adopt exactly the same resolution, 
he may nevertheless, by his own exertions, in some shape or other, 
attain the object on which it was founded, namely, to secure the means 
of subsistence, without relying exclusively on literary talents. In this 
respect, I determined that literature should be my staff, but not my 
crutch, and that the j^rofits of my literary labor, however convenient oth- 
erwise, should not, if I could help it, become necessary to my ordinary 
expenses. With this purpose I resolved, if the interest of my friends 
could so far favor me, to retire upon any of the respectable offices of 
the law, in which persons of that profession are glad to take refuge, 
when they feel themselves, or are judged by others, incompetent to 
aspire to its higher honors. Upon such a post an author might hope 
to retreat, without any perceptible alteration of circumstances, when- 
ever the time should arrive that the public grew weary of his endeavors 
to please, or he himself should tire of the pen. At this period of my 
life, I possessed so many friends capable of assisting me in this object 
of ambition, that I could hardly overrate my own prospects of obtain- 
ing the preferment to which I limited my wishes ; and, in fact, I ob- 
tained, in no long period, the reversion of a situation which completely - 
met them. 

Thus far all was well, and the Author had been guilty, perhaps, of no 
great imprudence, when he relinquished his forensic practice with the 



INTRO D UC TION. \ 3 7 

hope of making some figure in the field of literature. But an estab- 
lished character with the public, in my new capacity, still remained to 
be acquired. I have noticed, that the translation from Burger had been 
unsuccessful, nor had the original poetry which appeared under the 
auspices of Mr. Lewis, in the " Tales of Wonder," in any great degree 
raised my reputation. It is true, I had private friends disposed to sec- 
ond me in my efforts to obtain popularity. But I was sportsman 
enough to know, that if the greyhound does not run well, the halloos of 
his patrons will not obtain the prize for him. 

Neither was I ignorant that the practice of ballad-writing was for the 
present out of fashion, and that any attempt to revive it, or to found a 
poetical character upon it, would certainly fail of success. The ballad- 
measure itself, which was once listened to as to an enchanting melody, 
had become hackneyed and sickening, from its being the accompani- 
ment of every grinding hand-organ; and besides, a long work in qua- 
trains, whether those of the common ballad, or such as are termed 
elegiac, has an effect upon the mind like that of the bed of Procrustes 
upon the human body; for, as it must be both awkward and dilticult to 
carry on a long sentence from one stanza to another, it follows, that the 
meaning of each period must be comprehended within four lines, and 
equally so that it must be extended so as to fill that space. The alter- 
nate dilation and contraction thus rendered necessary is singularly 
unfavorable to narrative composition ; and the " Gondibert " "of Sir 
William D'Avenant, though containing many striking passages, has 
never become popular, owing chiefly to its being told in this species of 
elegiac verse. 

In the dilemma occasioned by this objection, the idea occurred to the 
Author of using the measured short line, which forms the structure of 
so much minstrel poetry that it may be properly termed the Romantic 
stanza, by way of distinction ; and which appears so natural to our lan- 
guage that the very best of our poets have not been able to protract 
it into the verse properly called Heroic, without the use of epithets 
which are, to say the least, unnecessary.^ But, on the other hand, the 
extreme facility of the short couplet, which seems congenial to our lan- 
guage, and was, doubtless for that reason, so popular with our old min- 
strels, is, for the same reason, apt to prove a snare to the composer 
who uses it in more modern days, by encouraging him in a habit of 
slovenly composition. The necessity of occasional pauses often forces 
the 5'oung poet to pay more attention to sense, as the boy's kite rises 
highest when the train is loaded by a due counterpoise. The Author 
was therefore intimidated by what Byron calls the "fatal facility "of 

' Thus it has been often remarked, that, in the opening couplets of Pope's transla- 
tion of tlie Iliad, tliere are two syllables forming a superfluous word in each line, as may 
be observed by attending to sucli words as are printed in Italics: — 

"Achilles' wrath to Greece the direful %^x\x\% 
Of woes unnuinber'd, heavenly goddess, sing; 
That wrath which sent to V\w\.6's gloomy reign, 
The souls of mighty chiefs in battle slain. 
Whose bones, unburied on the desert shore. 
Devouring dogs and hungry vultures tore." 



13^ 



NOTES. 



the octosyllabic verse, ^vhich was otherwise better adapted to his pur- 
pose of imitating the more ancient poetry. 

I was not less at a loss for a subject which might admit of being 
treated with the simplicity and wildness of the ancient ballad. lUit 
accident dictated both a theme and measure which decided the subject 
as well as the structure of the poem. 

The lovely young Countess of Dalkeith, afterwards Harriet Duchess 
of Buccleuch, had come to the land of her husband with the desire of 
making herself acquainted with its traditions and customs, as well as 
its manners and history. All who remember this lady will agree that 
the intellectual character of her extreme beauty, the amenity and cour- 
tesy of her manners, the soundness of her understanding, and her un- 
bounded benevolence, gave more the idea of an angelic visitai:t than 
of a being belonging to this nether world ; and such a thought was but 
too consistent with the short space she was permitted to tarry among 
us.i Of course, where all made it a pride and pleasure to gratify her 
wishes, she soon heard enough of Border lore ; among others, an aged 
gentleman of propertv,"-^ near Langholm, communicated to her ladyship 
the story of Gilpin Horner, a tradition in which the narrator, and many 
more of that country, were firm believers. The young Countess, much 
delighted with the legend, and the gravity and full confidence with 
which it was told, enjoined on me as a task to compose a ballad on the 
subject. Of course, to hear was to obey ; and thus the goblin story 
objected to by several critics as an excrescence upon the poem was, in 
fact, the occasion of its being written. 

A chance similar to that which dictated the subject gave me also the 
hint of a new mode of treating it. We had at that time the lease of a 
pleasant cottage near Lasswade, on the romantic banks of the Esk, to 
which we escaped when the vacations of the Court permitted me so 
much leisure. Here I had the pleasure to receive a visit from Mr. 
Stoddart (now Sir John Stoddart, Judge-Advocate at Malta), who was 
at that time collecting the particulars which he afterwards embodied in 
his Remarks on Local Scenery in Scotland [iSoi]. I was of some use 
to him in ])rocuring the information which he desired, and guiding him 
to the scenes which he wished to see. In return, he made me better ac- 
quainted than I had hitherto been with the poetic effusions which have 
since made the Lakes of Westmoreland, and the authors by whom they 
have been sung, so famous wherever the English tongue is spoken. 

I was already acquainted with the "Joan of Arc," the " Thalaba," 
and the •' Metrical Ballads " of Mr. Southey, which had found their way 

^ Tlie Ducliess died in August 1814. 

- Tliis was Mr. Beattie of Mickledale, a man then considerably upwards of eighty, of 
a shrewd and sarcastic temper, which lie did not at all times suppress, as the follow- 
ing anecdote will shew: — A worthy clergyman, now deceased, with better good-will 
than tact, was endeavoring to push the senior forward in his recollection of Border bal- 
lads and legends, by expressing reiterated surprise at his wonderful memory. " No, 
sir," said old Mickledale; "my memory is good for little, for it cannot retain what 
ought to be preserved. I can remember all these stories about the auld riding days, 
which are of no earthly importance ; but were you, reverend sir. to repeat your best 
sermon in this drawing-room, I could not tell you half an hour afterwards what you had 
been speaking about." 



INTR on UC TION. 1 3 9 

to Scotland, and were generally admired. But Mr. Stoddart, who had 
the advantage of personal friendship with the authors, and who pos- 
sessed a strong memory with an excellent taste, was able to repeat to 
me many long specimens of their poetry, which had not yet appeared in 
print. Amongst others, was the striking fragment called Christabel, 
by Mr. Coleridge, which, from the singularly irregular structure of the 
stanzas, and the liberty which it allowed the' author to adapt the sound 
to the sense, seemed to be exactly suited to such an extravaganza as 
I meditated on the subject of Gilpin Horner. As applied to comic 
and humorous poetry, this mescolanza of measures had been already 
used by Anthony Hall, Anstey, Dr. Wolcott, and others; but it was in 
Christabel that I first found it used in serious poetry, and it is to Mr. 
Coleridge that I am bound to make the acknowledgment due from the 
pupil to his master. I observe that Lord Byron, in noticing my obliga- 
tions to Mr. Coleridge, which I have been always most ready to ac- 
knowledge, expressed, or was understood to express, a hope, that I did 
not write an unfriendly review on Mr. Coleridge's productions. ^ On 
this subject I have only to say, that I do not even know the review 
which is alluded to ; and were I ever to take the unbecoming freedom 
of censuring a man of Mr. Coleridge's extraordinary talents, it would 
be on account of the caprice and indolence with which he has thrown 
from him, as if in mere wantonness, those unfinished scraps of poetry, 
which, like the Torso of anticjuity, defy the skill of his poetical breth- 
ren to complete them."'^ The charming fragments which the author 
abandons to their fate, are surely too valuable to be treated like the 
proofs of careless engravers, the sweepings of whose studios often 
make the fortune of some painstaking collector. 

I did not immediately proceed upon my projected labor, though I 
was now furnished with a subject, and with a structure of verse which 
might have the effect of novelty to the public ear, and afford the author 
an opportunity of varying his measure with the variations of a romantic 
theme. On the contrary, it was, to the best of my recollection, more 
than a year after Mr. Stoddart's visit that, by way of experiment, I 
composed the first two or three stanzas of "The Lay of the Last Min- 
strel." I was shortly afterwards visited by two intimate friends, one of 
whom still survives. They were men whose talents might have raised 
them to the highest station in literature, had they not preferred exert- 
ing them in their own profession of the law, in which thev attained 
equal preferment. I was in the habit of consulting them on my at- 
tempts at composition, having equal confidence in their sound taste 
and friendly sincerity.^ In this specimen I had, in the phrase of the 

' IMedwin's Conversations of Lord Byron, p. 309. 

2 In the notes to The Abbot, Scott, alluding to "Coleridge's beautiful and tantalizing 
fragment of Christabel," says, "Has not our own imaginative poet cause to fear that 
future ages will desire to summon him from his place of rest, as Milton longed 

'To call up liim who left half told 
The story of Cambuscan bold ? ' " 

3 One of these, William Erskine, Esq. (Lord Kinnedder,) I have often had occasion 
to mention, and though I may hardly be thanked for disclosing the name of the other, 
yet I cannot but state that the second is George Cranstoun, Esq., now a Senator of the 
College of Justice by the title of Lord Corehouse. 



140 NOTES. 

Highland servant, packed all that was my own at least, for I had also 
included a line of invocation, a little softened, from Coleridge — 

" Mary, mother, shield us well." 

As neither of my friends said much to me on the subject of the stanzas 
I shewed them before their departure, I had no doubt that their dis- 
gust had been greater than their good-nature chose to express. Look- 
ing upon them, therefore, as a failure, I threw the manuscript into the 
fire, and thought as little more as I could of the matter. Some time 
afterwards I met one of my two counsellors, who inquired, with consid- 
erable appearance of interest, about the progress of the romance I had 
commenced, and was greatly surprised at learning its fate. He con- 
fessed that neither he nor our mutual friend had been at first able to 
give a precise opinion on a poem so much out of the common road, but 
that as they walked home together to the city they had talked much on 
the subject, and the result was an earnest desire that I would proceed 
with the composition. He also added, that some sort of prologue 
might be necessary, to place the mind of the hearers in the situation to 
understand and enjoy the poem, and recommended the adoption of 
such quaint mottoes as Spenser has used to announce the contents of 
the chapters of the Faery Queen, such as — 

" Babe's bloody hands may not be cleansed. 

The face of golden Mean: 
Her sisters two, ICxtremlties, 

Her strive to banish clean." 

I entirely agreed with my friendly critic in the necessity of having 
some sort of pitch-pipe, which might make readers aware of the ob- 
ject, or rather the tone, of the publication. But I doubted whether, 
in assuming the oracular style of Spenser's mottoes, the interpreter 
might not be censured as the harder to be understood of the two. I 
therefore introduced the Old Minstrel, as an appropriate prolocutor by 
whom the lay might be sung or spoken, and the introduction of whom 
betwixt the cantos might remind the reader at intervals of the time, 
place, and circumstances of the recitation. This species of cadre, or 
frame, afterwards afforded the poem its name of " The La'- of the Last 
Minstrel." 

The work was subsequently shewn to other friends during its prog- 
ress, and received the imprimatur of Mr. Francis Jeffrey, who had been 
already for some time distinguished by his critical talent. 

The poem, being once licensed by the critics as fit for the market, 
was soon finished, ]:)roceeding at about the rate of a canto per week. 
There was, indeed, little occasion for pause or hesitation, when a troub- 
lesome rhyme might be accommodated by an alteration of the stanza, 
or where an incorrect measure might be remedied by a variation in the 
rhyme. It was finally published in 1805, ^^'^^ '^^'"^Y ^^ regarded as the 
first work in which the writer, who has been since so voluminous, laid 
his claim to be considered as an original author. 

The book was published by Longman and Comi)any, and Archibald 
Constable and Company. The principal of the latter firm was then 
commencing that course of bold and liberal industry which was of so 



INTR OD UC TION. 1 4 1 

much advantage to his country, and might have been so to himself, but 
for causes which it is needless to enter into here. The work, brought 
out on the usual terms of division of profits betweeix the author and 
publishers, was not long after purchased by them for ;i^500, to which 
Messrs. Longman and Company afterwards added £ioo, in their own 
unsolicited kindness, in consequence of the uncommon success of the 
work. It was handsomely given to supply the loss of a fine horse, 
which broke down suddenly while the author was riding with one of 
the worthy publishers. ^ 

It would be great affectation not to own frankly that the Author 
expected some success from " The Lay of the Last Minstrel." The 
attemi)t to return to a more simple and natural style of poetry was 
likely to be welcomed at a time when the public had become tired of 
heroic hexameters, with all the buckram and binding which belong to 
them of later clays. But whatever might have been his expectations, 
whether moderate or unreasonable, the result left them far behind, for 
among those who smiled on the adventurous Minstrel were numbered 
the great names of William Pitt and Charles Fox. Neithei; was the 
extent of the sale inferior to the character of the judges who received 
the poem with approbation. Upwards of thirty thousand copies of the 
Lay were disposed of by the trade ; and the Author had to perform a 
task difficult to human vanity, when called upon to make the necessary 
deductions from his own merits, in a calm attempt to account for his 
popularity. 

A few additional remarks on the Author's literary attempts after this 
period, will be found in the Introduction to the Poem of Marmion. 

Abbotsford, April, 1830. 

Of the success of the poem on its first appearance the Monthly Revie^v 
for May, 1808, remarks : " From the novelty of its style and subject, 
and from the spirit of its execution, Mr. Scott's 'Lay of the Last Min- 
strel ' kindled a sort of enthusiasm among all classes of readers; and 
the concurrent voice of the public assigned to it a very exalted rank, 
which, on more cool and dispassionate examination, its numerous essen- 
tial beauties will enable it to maintain. For vivid richness of coloring 
and truth of costume, many of its descriptive pictures stand almost 
unrivalled ; it carries us back in imagination to the time of action ; and 
we wander with the poet along Tweedside, or among the wild glades of 
Ettricke Forest." 

Jeffrey, in the Edinbtwgh Review for April, 1805, says : " We consider 
this poem as an attempt to transfer the refinements of modern poetry 
to the matter and the manner of the ancient metrical romance. The 
author, enamoured of the lofty visions of chivalry, and partial to the 
strains in which they were formerly embodied, seems to have employed 
all the resources of his genius in endeavoring to recall them to the 
favor and admiration of the public, and in adapting to the taste of 
modern readers, a species of poetry which was once the delight of the 
courtly, but has long ceased to gladden any other eyes than those of 

1 Mr. Owen Rees. 

7 
/ 



142 NOTES. 

the scholar and the antiquary. This is a romance, therefore, composed 
by a minstrel of the present day; or such a romance as we may suppose 
would have been written in modern times if that style of composition 
had continued to be cultivated, and partakes consequently of the im- 
\provements which every branch of literature has received since the 
time of its desertion." 

\Mr. Richard H. Hutton, in his Life of Scott} after mentioning that Lady 
DMkeith "requested Scott to write a poem on the legend of the goblin 
pagfe, Gilpin Horner," says that, "so far as the goblin himself was con- 
cerned," the poet "conspicuously failed." The critic adds : " He himself 
clearly saw that the story of this unmanageable imp was both confused 
and uninteresting, and that in fact he had to extricate himself from the 
original groundwork of the tale, as from a regular literary scrape, in 
the best way he could. . . . And I venture to say that no reader 
of the poem ever has distinctly understood what the goblin page did 
or did not do, what it was that was 'lost ' throughout the poem and 
'found' at the conclusion,^ what was the object of his personating the 
young heir of the house of Scott, and whether or not that object was 
answered; — what use, if any, the magic book of Michael Scott was to 
the Lady of Branksome, or whether it was only harm to her; and I 
doubt moreover whether any one ever cared an iota what answer, or 
whether any answer, might be given to any of these questions. All 
this, as Scott himself clearly perceived, was left confused, and not sim- 
ply vague. The goblin imp had been more certainly an imp of mis- 
chief to him than even to his boyish ancestor." 

This has been substantially the verdict of the great majority of critics 
from the first. They follow the lead of Jeffrey, who wrote thus in the 
Edinlnirgh : 

" The magic of the lady, the midnight visit to Melrose, and the 
mighty book of the enchanter, which occupy nearly one third of the 
whole poem, and engross the attention of the reader for a long time 
after the commencement of the narrative, are of no use whatever in the 
subsequent development of the fable, and do not contribute, in any 
degree, either to the production or explanation of the incidents that 
follow. The whole character and proceedings of the goblin page, in like 
manner, may be considered as merely episodical ; for though he is em- 
ployed in some of the subordinate incidents, it is remarkable that no 
material part of the fable requires the intervention of supernatural 
agency. The young Buccleuch might have wandered into the wood, 
although he had not been decoyed by a goblin ; and the dame might 
have given her daughter to the deliverer of her son, although she had 
never listened to the ]:)rattlement of the river and mountain spirits." 

But there is something to be said on the other side, and to our think- 
ing, Professor Minto has said it very well in the preface to his edition 
of the poem (p. 19) : 

"The Ladye might have been checkmated and Margaret and Crans- 
toun married without him [the goblin], but, as the story stands, his 

^ English Men 0/ Letters Series, Harpers' ed. p. 44. 
2 See note on ii. 360 below. 



INTROD UC TION. 1 4 3 

help was essential. His pranks are not episodical, but in the main line 
of the action. That ' no material part of the fable requires the interven- 
tion of supernatural agency ' is no more true of Scott's poem than of 
the Iliad. Further, whether or not the end was clear to the romancer 
when he began, and however grotesque the supernatural agents are, the 
structure of the romance is perfectly regular as it stands — its regular- 
ity of plot in fact is one of the points in which it differs from mediaeval 
romances, one of the points in which Scott profited from the example 
of the novelists of the eighteenth century. 

"The truth is that the supernatural element, so far from bemg an 
excrescence, overhangs, encompasses, and interpenetrates the human 
element in the story. The love of Cranstoun and Margaret is a matter 
of keen concern and high debate in the supernatural world of magi- 
cians, elemental spirits, and hobgoblins which Scott adopted as the 
peculiar creed of Border superstition. The Ladye appeals to this up- 
per v/orld in the first canto, and puts its agency in motion. In the last 
canto, defeated by the Fate that controls all from a still higher station, 
through the very instruments whose help she had invoked, she acknowl- 
edges\er defeat, wreaks her spite on the goblin, and renounces magic 
forever. The human storv lies between, compact and regular enough, 
a story of true love successful in spite of obstinate impediments, these 
impediments beinsf removed by supernatural means. They might have 
been removed by other means, but in that case the romance would have 
been a different kind of romance. The supernatural element cannot 
be detached without destroying the whole structure. The last canto is 
superfluous onlv if the first canto is superfluous ; the one completes 
what the other' began. The Ladve in her secret bower, able through 
her magic art to hear and understand the voices of the intermediate 
world of spirits, learns that Fate has decreed the union of her daughter 
with a bitterly hated enemy. She resolves to fight against it, and rec- 
ognizing the strength of her adversary, sends for the mighty book of the 
great wizard of her clan, a book buried with him and only to be claimed 
as a last resource in an hour of supreme peril. But Fate is too strong 
for her. The instrument with which she had hoped to defeat Fate, 
becomes the instrument of her own defeat. Her messenger is her 
stoutest and most trusty retainer. He courageously ' wins the treasure 
of the tomb,' but as he is bearing it back he encounters Cranstoun, the 
daughter's lover, and is unhorsed and seriously wounded. Cranstoun 
rides off, leaving the unconscious knight to the care of his page. But 
Fate has so ordered it that the page is a goblin, a truant imp of the great 
wizard's, who having strayed from his supernatural master has attached 
himself to Cranstoun, and with all his goblin tricksiness is most de- 
voted to his temporary human master. The inc[uisitive goblin spies 
the book in the breast of the wounded messenger, smears the clasps 
with blood, and opens it. He is struck to the ground by a buffet 
from a supernatural hand before he has time to read more than one 
spell ; but with the help of that spell he manages the human puppets of 
the story so as to bring about the very end that the Ladye feared. With 
the help of the book from which the Ladye had hoped to learn how to 
baffle Fate, he conveys Deloraine to her chamber, lures away the heir of 



144 NOTES. 



Branksome to fall into English hands and s eals ^^.^l^a^nes armor so 
that Cranstoun may take his place m the duel and win back the Lad>e s 
son for her. She cannot refuse her daughter to the deliverer of hei .on 
and heir. Pride is quelled and love is free. The storv o the lovers 
e Is here, but the ' Lay ' would have been incomplete if it had not told 
hovv the Ladve bore her defeat by Fate, and what became of he imp 
whom Fate had used as an instrument in the struggle he last use 
that she makes of her magical power is to punish him for his interven- 
tion by making the wizard take him back to perpetual miprisonment. 

Of the locaUty of the poem, Mr. F. T. Palgrave(" Globe " ed p. 5) 
savs • "The region in which the scene of the poem is laid was as famil- 
iar and dear to Scott as the legends with which it is associated. His 
first consciousness of existence dated, as he himself, has to Id us from 
SandvKnowe. In early manhood a 'raid' into Liddesdale was the 
fa We oS ect of a vacation ramble. At Ashestiel he spent the first 
hapoy years of wedlock; in Abbotsford he sought to realize one of the 
great a^nbitions of his life; and Dryburgh ^"^.l^^^^/^^^^^^"^,^- .^^J^ 
Border Union Railway now traverses the district fiom <-ailisle to 
Hawick, and modern cultivation has somewhat softened and enriched 
the aspect of the landscape. The old peels and Border ft'ongholds 
ave been gradually crumbling away. Hawick, Se k.rk, and Galashiels 
ave risen into populous and flourishing towns, the seats of an impoi- 
ant industry. Agriculture, though still chiefly pastoral has encroached 
on many a hill-side, bogs have been drained, and coal-fields opened up. 
The mockery of the line — 

' Rich was the soil had purple heath been gram,' 
has lost most of its force, and the farmers of Liddesdale can now give 
a better account of their lands than the gudeman of Charhe.hope - 
^ifere's mair hares than sheep on my farm ; and for the moor-fow 
and the erey-fowl, they lie as thick as doos m a dooket. But in Scott s 
t me he?ountrv was imich the same as in the days of the Moss-troopers. 
The people ha^l outlived the old Border traditions of raids and rob- 
beries vet in the seclusion of their valleys they preserved many of the 
roulh reckless manners of their ancestors. Scott has painted them, m 
«Guv Mannering,' much as they lived under his own eyes, ^hewild- 
nes7of the re^io% even at the end of the last century, may be gathered 
om the incidents of one of the poet's raids. His ^S w^^,. ^^ ^^^ 
wheeled carriage that had ever been seen m Liddesdale. Iheie was 
no Inn or publfc-house of any kind in the whole valley, which was ac- 
cessible onlv through a succession of tremendous morasses In the 
com e of mn- grancf tour, besides the risks of swamping and breaking 
our necks, we'encountered the formidable ^a-^^^-l- "^f S,-"f.,^T 




S^^X sc^/ a^Kl tSTh; had strolled through the wild glens of 
Liddesdale 'so often and so long, that he might say he had a home-in 



"''" Thl'TceneiT of the Scottish borderland can lay claim to little gran- 
dear. The hills are too bare to be beautiful, and too low to be very 



INTRODUCriON. 145 

impressive. Still the wide tracts of black moss, the gray swells of 
moor rising into brown, round-backed hills, with here and there a stately 
cliff of sterner aspect, and the green pastures of the c]uiet glens, are 
not without their charm, in spite of the general bare and treeless char- 
acter of the landscape, which is at first apt to disaj^point the visitor 
from the South. Washington Irving spoke of this disappointment to 
his host at Abbotsford. ' Scott hummed for a moment to himself, and 
looked grave. " It may be pertinacity," he said at length; " but to my 
eye, these gray hills and all this wild Piorder country have beauties 
peculiar to themselves. I like the very nakedness of the land; it has 
something bold, stern, and solitary about it. When I have been for some 
time in the rich scenery about Edinburgh, which is like ornamented gar- 
den land, I begin to wish myself back again among my own honest gray 
hills; and if I did not see the heather at least once a year, I think I 
should die !'''' The last words were said with an honest warmth, accom- 
panied by a thump on the ground with his staff, by way of emphasis, 
that showed his heart was in his speech.' That Scott was quite sensible 
to the sort of melancholy awe inspired by some of the more savage parts 
of the country is shown (if other proof were not abundant in his poems 
and novels) in a passage in one of his letters. Speaking of the view 
from the top of Minchmoor, he says : ' I assure you I have felt really 
oppressed with a sort of fearful loneliness when looking around the 
naked towering ridges of desolate barrenness which is all the eye takes 
in from the top of such a mountain, the patches of cultivation being 
hidden in the little glens, or only appearing to make one feel how 
feeble and ineffectual man has been to contend with the genius of the 
soil. It is in such a scene that the unkiiown and gifted author of 
"Albonia" places the superstition which consists in hearing the noise 
of a " chase, the baying of the hounds, the throttling sobs of the deer, 
the wild halloos of the huntsmen, and the 

' Hoof thick beating on the hollow hill.' " 
I have often repeated his verses with some sensations of awe in this 
place.' ^ As far as his own estate was concerned, he did much by his 
plantations to cover the nakedness of the land, and his precept and ex- 
ample also helped to make planting fashionable among his neighbors." 



INTRODUCTION TO THE POEM. 

1. The way was long, etc. The metre of this Introduction (as of the 
entire poem, with occasional variations, most of which are such as are 
found in the old "ballad measure ") is iambic, that is, with the accents 
on the even syllables, and octosyllabic, or eight syllables to the line. In 
the poem proper, lines of six syllables are often interspersed, which 
give additional variety to the measure by interrupting the regular suc- 
cession of rhymes. 

2. The Minstrel. Minto refers to the old dispute whether the ancient 
minstrel was a dignified travelling poet, who recited his own composi- 

10 



146 NOTES. 

tions to the harp, or only a strolling musician and singer, of similar 
rank to the modern organ-grinder. " Scott, in his Border Minstrelsy^ 
took a middle view, that there were minstrels, whether or not so named, 
of different degrees, and that the minstrel with the harp was not a mere 
romantic fiction." This is probably the correct view ; and it is likely 
also that the position of the minstrel changed with the times, as de- 
scribed in the poem. 

Veitch, in his Border Poetry (p. 342), quoted by M., states that the 
last famous wandering minstrel on the Ijorders, the "violer" Nicol 
Burne, lived till near the close of the seventeenth century — the time 
of the bard's recitation here — and was sheltered in his old age by the 
Scotts of Thirlestane, in the upper part of Ettrickdale. 

9. Well-a-day . CorrujDted from 7vella7uay, which stands for wei la luci 
or wa la wa ^= wo ! lo ! wo ! (Skeat). Shakespeare uses it several times ; 
as in R. and y. iii. 2. y? '• " Ah, well-a-day ! he 's dead ! " 

16. /;/ hall. In the hall, or public room, of the castle or mansion. 
Hall is often opposed to boioer, the lady's chamber or private apart- 
ments. Cf. Lady of the Lake, p. 197, note on 112. 

20. A stranger. William HI. 

21. The iron time. The days of the Commonwealth, with their Puri- 
tanical hostility to amusements. M. quotes the ordinance of 1656, "that 
if any person or persons, commonly called fidlers or minstrels, shall at 
any time be taken playing, fidling, and making music, in any Inn, Ale- 
house, or Tavern, . . . every such person or persons, so taken, shall 
be adjudged, and are hereby adjudged and declared to be rogues, vaga- 
bonds, and sturdy beggars." 

27. N'ezvark^s stately tower. "This is a massive square tower, now 
unroofed and ruinous, surrounded by an outward wall, defended by 
round flanking turrets. It is most beautifully situated, about three 
miles from Selkirk, upon the banks of the Yarrow, a fierce and precipi- 
tous stream, which unites with the Ettricke about a mile beneath the 
castle. 

f " Newark Castle was built by James II. The royal arms, with the 
unicorn, are engraved on a stone in the western side of the tower. 
There was a much more ancient castle in its immediate vicinity, called 
Auldwark, founded, it is said, by Alexander III. Both were designed 
for the royal residence when the King was disposed to take his pleas- 
ure in the extensive forest of Ettricke. Various grants occur in the 
records of the Privy Seal, bestowing the keeping of the Castle of New- 
ark upon different barons. There is a popular tradition, that it was 
once seized and held out by the outlaw Murray, a noted character in 
song, who only surrendered Newark upon condition of being made 
hereditary sheriff of the forest. K long ballad, containing an account' 
of this transaction, is preserved in the Border Minstrelsy. Upon the^ 
marriage of James IV. with Margaret, sister of Henry VIII., the Castle •' 
of Newark, with the whole Forest of Ettricke, was assigned to her as a 
part of her jointure landsj But of this she could make little advan- 
tage ; for, after the death of her husband, she is found complaining 
heavily that Buccleuch had seized upon these lands. Indeed, the office 
of keeper was latterly held by the family of Buccleuch, and with so firm 



INTRODUCTION. 147 

a grasp that when the Forest of Ettricke was disparked they obtained 
a grant of the Castle of Newark in property. It was within the court- 
yard of this castle that General Lesly did military execution upon the 
prisoners whom he had taken at the battle of Philiphaugh. The castle 
continued to be an occasional seat of the Buccleuch family for more 
than a century; and here, it is said, the Duchess of Monmouth and 
Buccleuch was brought up. For this reason, probably, Mr. Scott has 
chosen to make it the scene in which the Lay of the Last Minstrel \s 
recited in her presence, and for her amusement " (Schetky's Illustra- 
tions of the Lay of the Last Minstrel). 
Cf. Wordsworth's Yarrozv Visited : 

"the vale unfolds 

Rich groves of lofty stature. 
With Yarrow winding through the pomp 

Of cultivated nature ; 
And, rising from those lofty groves, 

Behold a ruin hoary, 
The shattered front of Newark's towers, 

Renown'd in Border story." 

32. Embattled. Battlemented ; rarely used in this sense except as a 
term of heraldry. 

33. Massy. A poetical synonym of massive. Cf. Shakespeare, Temp. 
iii. 3. 67 : '' Your swords are now too massy for your strengths ; " Milton, 
Lycidas, no: "Two massy keys he bore," etc. 

35. The irojt door. The expression is at once literal and figurative. 

37. The Duchess. "Anne, Duchess of Buccleuch and Monmouth, 
representative of the ancient Lords of Buccleuch, and widow of the 
unfortunate Jaines, Duke of Monmouth, who was beheaded in 16S5" 
(Scott). 

49. Earl Francis. "Francis Scott, Earl of Buccleuch, father of the 
Duchess " (Scott). 

50. Earl Walter. " Walter, Earl of Buccleuch, grandfather of the 
Duchess, and a celebrated warrior " (Scott). 

Rest him God! God give him rest! Cf. Shakespeare, M. of V. ii. 2. 
75 : " God rest his soul ! '' M. points thus : " Rest him, God ! " but rest 
is 3d person, not 2d, and God is the subject of it, not the vocative. 

It is the Minstrel, not the poet, who says this ; and the whole pas- 
sage is an example of a form of indirect quotation which is not un- 
common, though it is not described, so far as we are aware, in books of 
rhetoric. Cf. i. 360 and iii. 425 below. 

53. Bticclench. For the traditional origin of the name, cf. vi. 154 
below. 

57. The sooth to speak. To tell the truth. Cf. Lady of the Lake, v. 64 : 
" ' Yet, sooth to tell,' the Saxon said," etc The noun sooth still sur- 
vives in soothsayer (teller of hidden truth). 

69. Wilder ing. Bewildering. " To be bewildered is to be in the state 
of one who finds himself in a loild or wilderness ; at a loss which way 
to go; puzzled, perplexed " (Rich.). Cf. Dryden, King Arthur, iii.: 
" The night has wilder'd us ; " Pope, Thebaid, i. : " Long lost and wilder'd 
in the maze of fate," etc. 



148 NOTES. 

80. King Charles the Good. Charles I., who was crowned at Holy- 
rood in June, 1633. He visited Edinburgh again in 1641. "On both 
occasions, but particularly the last, he had serious questions to discuss 
with very uneasy subjects touching church government and ceremonial. 
But, even in the view of strict history, it would be a permissible suppo- 
sition that he found time to listen to harpers, if harpers were then of 
sufficient dignity to be admitted to entertain the Court on great state 
occasions. This last is more doubtful historically. The age of the 
harper is in keeping. The time of his recitation before the Duchess is' 
about 1690" (M.). 

Holyyood Abbey was founded in 1128 by David I. of Scotland to com- 
memorate his rescue from the horns of an infuriated stag while hunting, 
by the apparition of a luminous cross in the sky, which put the animal 
to flight. The king intended to deposit in the abbey the holy rood, 
or fragment of the true cross, brought by his mother St. Margaret from 
Waltham abbey. The adjoining palace was begun by James IV. and 
completed by James V. It was burned by the English in 1544, and 
again by the soldiers of Cromwell in 1650, the only part that escaped 
the fire being the northwestern corner, containing the rooms occupied 
by Queen Mary in 1561. The remainder of the present palace is mostly 
of the time of Charles II. 

89. And lightened 2ip his faded eye. Of course eye is the subject of 
lightened. 

Pitt, who read the poem when it first appeared, remarked of the scene 
between the Minstrel and the ladies here ; " This is a sort of thing 
which I might have expected in painting, but could never have fancied 
capable of being given in poetry." Scott was much gratified by the 
compliment. See his reference to it, p. 141 above, and cf. our ed. of 
Marmion, p. 237, note on 203. 

98. Supplied. For the rhyme, cf. rejoined and behind in i. 275, 276, 
toil and mile in iv. 267, 268, etc., below. 

100. 'Twas thus, etc. Jeffrey says : " In the very first rank of poeti- 
cal excellence, we are inclined to place the introductory and concluding 
lines of every Canto, in which the ancient strain is suspended, and the 
feelings and situation of the minstrel himself described in the words of 
the author. The elegance and the beauty of this setting, if we may so 
call it, though entirely of modern workmanship, appears to us to be 
fully more worthy of admiration than the bolder relief of the antiques 
which it encloses." 



CANTO FIRST. 

I. Branksome tower. " In the reign of James I., Sir William Scott of 
Buccleuch, chief of the clan bearing that name, exchanged, with Sir 
Thomas Inglis of Manor, the estate of Murdiestone, in Lanarkshire, for 
one-half of the barony of Branksome, or Brankholm,! lying upon the 

1 Branxholm is the proper name of the barony ; but Branksome has been adopted, as 
suitable to the pronunciation, and more proper for poetry. 



CANTO I. 149 

Teviot, about three miles above Hawick. He was probably induced to 
this transaction from the vicinity of Branksome to the extensive domain 
which he possessed in Ettrick Forest and in Teviotdale. In the for- 
mer district he held by occupancy the estate of Bucclcuch/ and much 
of the forest land on the river Ettrick. In Teviotdale, he enjoyed the 
barony of Eckford, by a grant from Robert II. to his ancestor, Walter 
Scott of Kirkurd, for the apprehending of Gilbert Ridderford, con- 
firmed by Robert III., 3d ]\Iay, 1424. Tradition imputes the exchange 
betwixt Scott and Inglis to a conversation, in which the latter, a man, 
it would appear, of a mild and forbearing nature, complained much of 
the injuries which he was exposed to from the English Borderers, who 
frequently plundered his lands of Branksome. Sir William Scott in- 
stantly offered him the estate of Murdiestone, in exchange for that 
which was subject to such egregious inconvenience. When the bargain 
was completed, he dryly remarked, that the cattle in Cumberland were 
as good as those of Teviotdale ; and proceeded to commence a system 
of reprisals upon the English, which was regularly pursued by his suc- 
cessors. In the next reign, James II. granted to Sir Walter Scott of 
Branksome, and to Sir David, his son, the remaining half of the barony 
of Branksome, to be held in blanche for the payment of a red rose. 
The cause assigned for the grant is, their brave and faithful exertions 
in favor of the King against the house of Douglas, wdth whom James 
had been recently tugging for the throne of Scotland. This charter is 
dated the 2d Februarv, 1443 ; and, in the same month, part of the 
barony of Langholm, and many lands in Lanarkshire, were conferred 
upon Sir Walter and his son by the same monarch. 

" After the period of the exchange with Sir Thomas Inglis, Branksome 
became the principal seat of the Buccleuch family. The castle was 
enlarged and strengthened by Sir David Scott, the grandson of Sir 
William, its first possessor. But, in 1570-1, the vengeance of Elizabeth, 
provoked by the inroads of Buccleuch and his attachment to the cause 
of Queen Mary, destroyed the castle, and laid waste the lands of Brank- 
some. In the same year the castle was repaired and enlarged by Sir 
Walter Scott, its brave possessor; but the work was not completed 
until after his death, in 1574, when the widow finished the building. 
This appears from the following inscriptions. Around a stone, bearing 
the arms of Scott of Buccleuch, appears the following legend: ' 5tr 
am. Scott of Braniljctm mngt loc of Sir amiUtam Scott of lituluirH itnut 
began gc toork upon ye 24 of fHardic 1571 5cir qidja Dcpartit at 6oti's plcts- 
OUr pE 17 llpvil 1574-' On a similar copartmcnt are sculptured the 
arms' of Douglas, with this inscription, 'Dame Margaret Douglas 

HIS SPOUS COMPLETIT THE FORSAID WORK IN OCTOBER I576.' Over 

an arched door is inscribed the following moral verse: — 

Cn. barltr. is. nocl}t. nature. !}es. brought, uat. sal. lest. au. 
C!)arforE. sertie. (!&ot(. i^eip. Pcil. I'c. roK. tiin. fame. sal. noclit. Uchag. 
Sir Scatter Scot of 13ranxl)oliu ilnigfjt. i^argaret Qouglas 1571- 

^ There are no vestiges of any building at Buccleucli, except the site of a cha]iel, 
where, according to a tradition current in the time of Scott of Satchells, many of the 
ancient barons of Buccleuch lie buried. There is also said to have been a mill near this 



150 NOTES. 

" Branksome Castle continued to be the principal seat of the Buccleuch 
family, while security was any object in their choice of a mansion. It 
has since been the residence of the Commissioners, or Chamberlains, 
of the family. From the various alterations which the building has 
undergone, it is not only greatly restricted in its dimensions, but retains 
little of the castellated form, if we except one square tower of massy 
thickness, the only part of the original building which now remains. 
The whole forms a handsome modern residence, lately inhabited by my 
deceased friend, Adam Ogilvy, Esq. of Hartwoodmyres, Commissioner 
of his Grace the Duke of Buccleuch. 

" The extent of the ancient edifice can still be traced by some vestiges 
of its foundation, and its strength is obvious from the situation, on a 
deep bank surrounded by the Teviot and flanked by a deep ravine, 
formed by a precipitous brook. It was anciently surrounded by wood, 
as appears from the survey of Roxburghshire, made for Font's Atlas, 
and preserved in the Advocates' Library. This wood was cut about 
fifty years ago, but is now replaced by the thriving plantations, which 
have been formed by the noble proprietor for miles around the ancient 
mansion of his forefathers " (Scott). 

2. Ladye. An old spelling, like sundry other instances scattered 
through the poem. For ^^z*^^;' = chamber, see on introd. 16 above. 

4. Deadly to hear, etc. M. remarks : " The sudden change of rhythm 
in 4 is very impressive. It has always a strong effect to begin a line 
with an accent. For the rhythm we may compare the opening lines 
of Christabel : 

' 'T is the middle of night by the castle clock, 
And the owls have awakened the crowing cock.' 

The third line is an imitation of 1. 127 of Christabel : 

' All in the middle of the gate ; 
The gate that was ironed within and without.' 

Scott acknowledged [cf. p. 140 above] having taken the fifth line bodily 
from Christabel [\. ^\): 

' Hush, beating heart of Christabel ! 
Jesu, Maria, shield her well ! ' " 

8. Idlesse. " An artificial archaism," an Anglo-Saxon word with a 
French ending. 

13. Rushy floor. In the middle of the i6th century — the time of the 
poem — floors, even in palaces, were still strewn with rushes instead 
of being covered with carpets. The last monarch whose presence- 
chamber was thus carpeted was Queen Elizabeth. Cf. our ed. of 
Richard II. p. 167, note on The presence streza'd. 

Jeffrey says of this part of the poem : " The ancient romance owes 
much of its interest to the lively picture which it affords of the times of 
chivalry, and of those usages, manners, and institutions, wdiich we have 
been accustomed to associate in our minds with a certain combination 

solitary spot ; an extraordinary circumstance, as little or no corn grows within several 
miles of Buccleuch. Satchells says it was used to grind corn for the hounds of the 
chieftain. 



CANTO 1. 151 

of magnificence with simplicity, and ferocity with romantic honor. The 
representations contained in those performances, however, are for the 
most part too rude and naked to give complete satisfaction. The exe- 
cution is always extremely unequal ; and though the writer sometimes 
touches upon the appropriate feeling with great effect and felicity, 
still this appears to be done more by accident than design ; and he 
wanders away immediately into all sorts of ludicrous or uninteresting 
details, without any apparent consciousness of incongruity. These 
defects Mr. Scott has corrected with admirable address and judgment 
in the greater part of the work now before us ; and while he has ex- 
hibited a very striking and impressive picture of the old feudal usages 
and institutions, he has shewn still greater talent in engrafting upon 
those descriptions all the tender or magnanimous emotions to which 
the circumstances of the story naturally give rise. Without impairing 
the antique air of the whole piece, or violating the simplicity of the 
ballad style, he has contrived, in this way, to impart a much greater 
dignity and more powerful interest to his production than could ever 
be obtained by the unskilful and unsteady delineations of the old ro- 
mancers. Nothing, we think, can afford a finer illustration of this 
remark than the opening stanzas of the whole poem ; they transport 
us at once into the days of knightly daring and feudal hostility, at the 
same time that they suggest, in a very interesting way, all those softer 
sentiments which arise out of some parts of the description." 

16. Nitie-and-tiuenty kiiights, etc. Scott has the following note here: 
"The ancient Barons of Buccleuch, both from feudal splendor and 
from their frontier situation, retained in their household, at Branksome, 
a number of gentlemen of their own name, who held lands from their 
chief, for the military service of watching and warding his castle. 
Satchells tells us, in his doggrel poetry — 

' No baron was better served in Britain ; 
The barons of Buckleugh they kept their call, 
Four and twenty gentlemen in their hall, 
All being of his name and kin ; 
Each two had a servant to wait upon them ; 
Before supper and dinner, most renowned. 
The bells rung and tJie trumpets sowned ; 
And more than that, I do confess, 
They kept four and twenty pensioners. 
Think not I lie, nor do me blame. 
For the j^ensioners I can all name : 
There 's men alive, elder than I, 
They know if I speak truth, or lie. 
Every pensioner a room ^ did gain, 
For service done and to be done ; 
This let tlie reader understand. 
The name both of the men and land. 
Which they possessed, it is of truth, 
Both from the Lairds and Lords of Buckleugh.' 

" Accordingly, dismounting from his Pegasus, Satchells gives us, in 
prose, the names of twenty-four gentlemen, younger brothers of ancient 

^ Room, portion of land. 



152 NOTES. 

families, who were pensioners to the house of Buccleuch, and describes 
the lands which each possessed for his Border service. In time of 
war with England, the garrison was doubtless augmented. Satchells 
adds, ' These twenty-three pensioners, all of his own name of Scott, and 
Walter Gladstanes of Whitclaw, a near cousin of my lord's, as afore- 
said, were ready on all occasions, when his honor pleased cause to 
advertise them. It is known to many of the country better than it is to 
me, that the rent of these lands which the Lairds and Lords of Buc- 
cleuch did freely bestow upon their friends will amount to above 
twelve or fourteen thousand mcrks a-year ' [History of t/ie N'ame of 
Scott, p. 45). An immense sum in those times." 

19. To bower from stall. To the house from the stable. The early 
eds. all read "From bower to stall." The ed. of 1821 transposes the 
prepositions. 

26. They quitted not., etc. " Scott uses the bard's license to make 
romantic heroes men of more than mortal mould. If a real mediaeval 
knight had worn steel harness day and night, he would have been of 
small use in the field. The heavy helmet was generally borne by page 
or squire even on the way to battle, or in traversing an enemy's coun- 
try. See iii. 22 below. The whole of this picture of knights on the 
watch is too melodramatically romantic, especially the drinking of the 
wine through the barred helmet. ]]order raids, of course, were sud- 
den, but not so sudden that the warriors could not get warning by 
beacon or messenger in time to put on their armor. At any rate they 
were not so hard pressed as to be unable to raise their visors or their 
beavers" (M.). 

36. Wight. Lively, active; not the same word as w/^7/^'= person, 
man. See Skeat. Cf. the ballad of Pri^ice Kobei-t, in the Border 
Minstrelsy : 

" But the steed it was wiglit and the ]adye was light, 
And she cam linkin in." 

38. Barded. The eds. all have " barbed," which may be what Scott 
wrote; but he has the correct form in 311 below, and barded \\z.'a been 
misprinted " barbed '' in all the modern eds. of Lady of the Lake, vi. 404. 
See our ed. p. 262. 

39. Ji'dwood-axe. " ' Of a truth,' says Froissart, 'the Scottish cannot 
boast great skill with the bow, but rather bear axes, with which, in 
time of need, they give heavy strokes.' The Jcdwood-axe was a sort 
of partisan, used by horsemen, as appears from the arms of Jedburgh, 
which bear a cavalier mounted, and armed with this weapon. It is also 
called a Jedwood or Jeddart staff " (Scott). 

42. J^igJit. Dressed, decked. Cf. Chaucer, C. T. 1041 : " She was 
arisen and al redy dight ; " Milton, VAll. 62 : " The clouds in thousand 
liveries dight," etc. 

44. They 7vatrh, etc. "The Borderers on each side had to be con- 
stantly on the watch against sudden raids from the other side. Bue- 
cleuch was Warden of the West Marches of Scotland. WarkwortJi , in 
Northumberland, was the residence of Percy, Earl of Northumberland ; 
Naworth, in Cumberland, of Lord William Howard j Carlisle, of Lord 



CANTO I. 153 

Scroop — Wardens of the English Marches. The noblemen mentioned 
were not all Wardens at the date of the story, but the poet of course 
did not hold himself bound to exact historical accuracy in such details. 
These three were not the only English fortresses from which inroads 
were to be feared. There was a regular chain of fortresses from Ber- 
wick to Carlisle, Norham, Wark, Etal, Ford, Cornhill, Twizell, Asker- 
ton, Hexham" (M.). 

Scott has the following note here : " Branksome Castle was continu- 
ally exposed to the attacks of the English, both from its situation and 
the restless military disposition of its inhabitants, who were seldom on 
good terms with their neighbors. The following letter from the Earl 
of Northumberland to Henry VHI. in 1533, gives an account of a suc- 
cessful inroad of the English, in which the country was plundered up to 
the gates of the castle, although the invaders failed in their principal 
object, which was to kill, or make prisoner, the Laird of Buccleuch. It 
occurs in the Cotton MS. Calii^^. B. VIH. f. 222. 

" ' Pleaseth yt your most gracious highness to be aduertised, that my 
comptroller, with Raynald Carnaby, desyred licence of me to inuade the 
realme of Scotland, for the annoysaunce of your highnes enemys, 
where they thought best exploit by theyme might be done, and to haue 
to concur withe theyme the inhabitants of Northumberland, suche as 
was towards me according to theyre assembly, and as by thcyre discre- 
tions vpone the same they shulde thinke most conuenicnt; and soo they 
dyde meet vppon Monday, before night, being the iii day of this instant 
monethe, at Wawhope, upon Northe Tyne water, aboue Tyndaill, where 
they were to the number of xv c men, and soo inuadet Scotland at the 
hour of viii of the clok at nyght, at a place called Whele Causay ; and 
before xi of the clok dyd send forth a forrey of Tyndaill and Ryddis- 
dail, and laide all the resydewe in a bushment, and actyuely did set 
vpon a towne called Branxholm, where the Lord of Buclough dwell- 
ythe, and ])urpesed theymeselues with a trayne for hym lyke to his 
accustomed manner, in rysynge to all frayes ; albeit, that knyght he 
was not at home, and so they brynt the said Branxholm, and other 
townes, as to say Whichestre, Whichestre-helme, and Whelley, and 
haid ordered theymeself, soo that sundry of the said Lord Buclough's 
seruants, who dyd issue fourthe of his gates, was takyn prisoners. They 
dyd not leue one house, one stale of corne, nor one shyef, without the 
gate of the said Lord Buclough vnbrynt ; and thus scrymaged and 
frayed, supposing the Lord of Buclough to be within iii or iiii myles to 
have trayned him to the bushment ; and soo in the breyking of the day 
dyd the forrey and the bushment mete, and reculed homeward, making 
theyr way westward from thevre inuasion to be ouer Lyddersdaill, as 
intending yf the fray frome theyre furst entry by the Scotts waichcs, or 
otherwyse by warnying, shulde haue bene gyuen to Gedworth and the 
countrey of Scotland theyreabouts of theyre inuasion ; whiche Ged- 
worth is from the Wheles Causay vi myles, that thereby the Scotts 
shulde have comen further vnto theyme, and more out of ordre ; and 
soo upon sundry good considerations, before they entered Lyddersdaill, 
as well accompting the inhabitants of the same to be towards your 
highness, and to enforce theyme the more thereby, as alsoo to put an 



154 AZOTES. 

occasion of suspect to the Kingc of Scotts, and his connsaill, to lie taken 
anenst iheynie, anionics tlieynieschies, nunk' piochunacions, coniniand- 
ing, \y)o\\ ])aync of dcthc, assurance to be for tlic said inhabitants of 
J.ydderschull, without any prejudice or hurt to be (U)nc ])y any Inglys- 
nian vnto theynie, and soo in gootl ordre abowte the howre of ten of 
thcch)U l)eforc none, vppone Tcwischiv, clyd pass through the said l-yd- 
derschiil, when (hd come tliuerse of tlie said inhaliitants there to my 
seruauntcs, under the said assurance, offerring thcvniselfs with any ser- 
uice tliey couthc make ; and thus, tlianks be to CJodde, your highnes' 
sul)jects, abowte the how re of xii of the clok at none the same daye, 
came into this your highnes reahiie, Ininging wt theyme above xl vScotts- 
men prisoners, one of theyme named Scot, of the surname and kyn of 
the said Lord of Ihiclough, and of his howseliold ; they brought also 
ccc nowte, and al)oue Ix horse and marcs, keping in sauetie frome h)sse 
or hurte all your said highnes subjects, 'riiere was alsoo a townc, 
called Newbyggins, by diucrse fotmen of Tyndaill and Ryddesdaill, 
takvn vp of the night, and spoyled, when was slayne ii Scottsmen of the 
said towne, and many Scotts there hurte ; your highnes subjects was 
xiii myles within the groundc of Scotlande, and is from my house at 
Werkworthc, above Ix miles of the most euil passage, where great 
snawes doth lye; heretofore the same townes now brynt haith not at 
any tyme in the mynd of man in any warrs been enterprised unto nowe ; 
your subjects were thereto more encouraged for the l)ctter aduancement 
of your highnes seruice, the said Lord of Ihiclough beyng always a 
mortall enemy to this your Graces realme, and he dyd say, within xiii 
days before, lie woulde sec who durst lye near hym ; wt many other 
cruell words, the knowledge whereof was certainly haid to my said ser- 
uaunts, before theyrc enterinice maid vpon him ; most humbly beseech- 
ing your majesty, that youre highnes thanks may concur vnto theyme, 
whose names be here inclosed, and to haue in your most gracious 
memory, the paynfuU and diligent seruice of my pore servaunte Whar- 
ton, and thus, as I am most bounden, shall disjiosc wt them that 
be under me f . . . annoysaunce of your highnes encmys.' In resent- 
ment of this foray, Buccleuch, with other l^order chiefs, assembled an 
army of 3000 riders, with which they penetrated into Northumberland, 
and laid waste the country as far as the banks of Ihamish. Thev baf- 
fled or defeated the English forces opposed to them, and returned 
loaded with j^rey." 

57. Bards loiii^ s/i,j/l IcU, etc. Scott says here : " Sir Walter Scott of 
Ihiccleuch succeeded to his grandfather, Sir David, in 1492. He was a 
brave and ]iowerful baron, and Warden of the West Marches of Scot- 
land. Mis death was the consecpience of a feud betwixt the Scotts and 
Kerrs, the history of which is necessary to explain repeated allusions in 
the romance. 

" In the year 1526, in the words of Pitscottie, ' the Earl of Angus, and 
the rest of the Douglasses, ruled all which thev liked, and no man 
durst sav the contrary; wherefore the King (James V. then a minor) 
was heavily disj^leased, and would fain have been out of their hands, if 
he might by any way: And, to that effect, wrote a cpiiet and secret 
letter with his own hand, and sent it to the Laird of Buccleuch, beseech- 



CANTO I. 155 

ing him that he would come with his kin and friends, and all the force 
that he might be, and meet him at Melross, at his home-passing, and 
there to take him out of the Douglasses hands, and to put him to lib- 
erty, to use himself among the lave {rest) of his lords, as he thinks 

expedient. , /■ .1 i^- > 

" ' This letter was quietly directed, and sent by one of the Kmg s own 
secret servants, which was received very thankfully by the Laird of 
liuccleuch, who was very glad thereof, to be put to such charges and 
familiarity with his prince, and did great diligence to perform the 
King's writing, and to bring the matter to pass as the King desired: 
And, to that effect, convened all his kin and friends, and all that would 
do for him, to ride with him to Melross, when he knew of the King s 
homecoming. And so he brought with him six hundred spears, of Lid- 
desdale, and Annandale, and countrymen, and clans thereabout, and 
held themselves quiet while that the King returned out of Jedburgh, 
and came to Melross, to remain there all that night. , . . c 

'"But when the Lord Hume, Cessfoord, and Fernyherst (the chiefs ot 
the clan of Kerr), took their leave of the King, and returned honrie 
then appeared the Lord of liuccleuch in sight, and his company vyith 
him, in an arrayed battle, intending to have fulfilled the King » PC;tition 
and therefore came stoutly forward on the back side of Ilaliden hill. 
By that the Earl of Angus, with George Douglas, his brother and sun- 
dry other of his friends, seeing this army coming, they marvelled what 
the matter meant; while at the last they knew the Laird of Luccleuch, 
with a certain company of the thieves of Annandale. With him they 
were less affeared, and made them manfully to the field contrary them 
and said to the King in this manner, "Sir, yon is Buccleuch, and 
thieves of Annandale with him, to unbeset your Grace from the gate 
(/. e. interrupt your passage). " I vow to God they shall either fight or 
flee: and ye shall tarry here on this know, and my brother George with 
you, with any other company you please ; and I shall pass, and put yon 
thieves off the ground, and rid the gate unto your Grace, or else die tor 
it " The King tarried .still, as was devised; and George Douglas with 
him, and sundry other lords, such as the Earl of Lennox, and the Lord 
Erskine, and some of the King's own servants; but all the lave (r.'^Z) 
past with 'the Karl of Angus to the field against the Laird of Luccleuch 
who ioyned and countered cruelly both the said parties in the held of 
Darnelinver,! either against other, with uncertain victory. But at the 
last, the Lord Hume, hearing word of that matter how it stood returnecf 
again to the King in all possible haste, with him the Lairds of Ces.sfoorcl 
and Fernyhirst, to the number of fourscore spears, and set freshly on 
the lap and wing of the Laird of Buccleuch's field, and shortly bare 
them backward to the ground; which caused the Laird of Buccleuch, 
and the rest of his friends, to go back and flee, whom they followed and 
chased ; and especially the Lairds of Cessfoord and Fernyhirst followed 
furiouslie, till at the foot of a path the Laird of Cessfoord was slain by 
the stroke of a spear by an Elliot, who was then servant to the Laird 

' Damwick, near Melrose. The place of conflict ib still called Skinner's Field, from 
a corruption of Skirmish Field, 



^^56 



NOTES. 



of Buccleuch. But when the Laird of Cessfoord was slain, the chase 
ceased. The Earl of Angus returned again with great merriness and 
victory, and thanked God that he saved him from that chance, and 
passed with the King to Melross, where they remained all that night. 
On the morn they past to Edinburgh with the King, who was very sad 
and dolorous of the slaughter of the Laird of Cessfoord, and many 
other gentlemen and yeomen slain by the Laird of Buccleuch, contain- 
ing the number of fourscore and fifteen, which died in defence of the 
King, and at the command of his writing.' 

" I am not the first who has attempted to celebrate in verse the re- 
nown of this ancient baron, and his hazardous attempt to procure his 
sovereign's freedom. In a Scottish Latin poet we find the following 
verses : — 

'Valterius Scotus Balcluchius, 

Egregio suscepto facinore, libertate Regis, ac allis rebus gestis clarus, sub 
Jacobo V. A°. Christi, 1526. 

Intentata aliis, nullique audita priorum 

Audet, nee ]Davidura morsve inetusve quatit, 
Libertatem aliis soliti transcribere Reges ; 

Subreptam banc Regi restituisse paras : 
Si vincis, quanta 6 succedunt pr^emia dextras ! 

Sin victus, falsas spes jace, pone animam. 
Hostica vis nocuit : stant altje robora mentis 

Atque decus. Vincet, Rege probante, fides. 
Insita queis animis virtus, quosque acrior ardor 

Obsidet, obscuris nox premat an tenebris ? 

Heroes ex omni Historia Scotica lectissimi, Auctore Johan. Jonstonio Abredonense 
Scoto, 1603.' 

" In consequence of the battle of Melrose, there ensued a deadly feud 
betwixt the names of Scott and Kerr, which, in spite of all means used 
to bring about an agreement, raged for many years upor the Borders. 
Buccleuch was imprisoned, and his estates forfeited, in the year 1535, 
for levying war against the Kerrs, and restored by act of Parliament, 
dated 15th March, 1542, during the regency of Mary of Lorraine. But 
the most signal act of violence, to which this quarrel gave rise, was the 
murder of Sir Walter himself, who was slain by the Kerrs in the streets 
of Edinburgh in 1552. This is the event alluded to in stanza vii. ; and 
the poem is supposed to open shortly after it had taken place. 

"The feud between these two families was not reconciled in 1596, 
when both chieftains paraded the streets of Edinburgh with their fol- 
lowers, and it was expected their first meeting would decide their 
quarrel. But, on July 14th of the same year, Colvil, in a letter to Mr. 
Bacon, informs him, ' that there was great trouble upon the Borders, 
which would continue till order should be taken by the Queen of Eng- 
land and the King, by reason of the two young Scots chieftains, Cesford 
and Baclugh, and of the present necessity and scarcity of corn amongst 
the Scots Borderers and riders. That there had been a private quarrel 
betwixt those two lairds on the Borders, which was like to have turned 
to blood ; but the fear of the general trouble had reconciled them, and 
the injuries which they thought to have committed against each other 



CANTO L 157 

were now transferred upon England : not unlike that emulation in 
France between the Baron de Biron and Mens. Jeverie, who, being 
both ambitious of honor, undertook more hazardous enterprises against 
the enemy, than they would have done if they had been at concord 
together' (Birch's Memorials, vol. ii. p. 67)." 

61. Dunedin. Edinburgh; of which name it is a Celtic adaptation. 

63. Slogan s. " The war-cry, or gathering word, of a Border clan " 
(Scott), a. Ma?-7?iion,\. j^: 

" Nor harp nor pipe could please his ear 
Like the loud slogan yell." 

69. No ! vainly to each holy shrine, etc. " Among other expedients 
resorted to for stanching the feud betwixt the Scotts and the Kerrs, 
there was a bond executed in 1529, between the heads of each clan, 
binding themselves to perform reciprocally the four principal pilgrim- 
ages of Scotland for the benefit of the souls of those of the opposite 
name who had fallen in the quarrel. This indenture is printed in the 
Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, vol. i. But either it never took effect, 
or else the feud was renewed shortly afterwards. 

" Such pactions were not uncommon in feudal times ; and, as might be 
expected, they were often, as in the present case, void of the effect 
desired. When Sir Walter Mauny, the renowned follower of Edward 
III., had taken the town of Ryol in Gascony, he remembered to have 
heard that his father lay there buried, and offered a hundred crowns to 
any who could shew him his grave. A very old man appeared before 
Sir Walter, and informed him of the manner of his father's death, and 
the place of his sepulture. It seems the Lord of Mauny had, at a great 
tournament, unhorsed, and wounded to the death, a Gascon knight, of 
the house of Mirepoix, whose kinsman was Bishop of Cambray. For 
this deed he was held at feud by the relations of the knight, until he 
agreed to undertake a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James of Com- 
postella, for the benefit of the soul of the deceased. But as he returned 
through the town of Ryol, after accomplishment of his vow, he was 
beset and treacherously slain by the kindred of the knight whom he had 
killed. Sir Walter, guided by the old man, visited the lowly tomb of his 
father; and having read the inscription, which was in Latin, he caused 
the body to be raised and transported to his native citv of Valenciennes, 
where masses were, in the days of Froissart, duly said for the soul of 
the unfortunate pilgrim" (Scott). 

83. Nor floiver. The ist. ed. has "nor sigh."i 

88. Until, amid his sorrozving clan, etc. Cf. the Song in Tennyson's 
Princess: " Home they brought her warrior dead," etc. See our ed. 
p. 179. 

Scott's lines, as M. notes, are taken from the hz\\a.d, /ohnny Arm- 
strong's Last Good Night : 

"O then bespoke his little son, 
As he sat on his nurse's knee, 
' If ever I live to be a man 
My father's death revenged shall be.' " 

^ As we have not been able to get hold of a copy of the ist. ed. we are obliged to 
depend on Lockhart for its readings in this and other passages. 



158 



NOTES. 



Similar lines occur in another ballad, The Lads of Waniphray. Scott 
may have regarded them as common ballad property. 

105. Carr. " The family of Kcr, Kerr, or Carr,i was very powerful 
on the Border. Fyncs Morrison remarks, in his Travels, that their in- 
fluence extended from the village of Preston-Grange in Lothian, to the 
limits of England. Ccssford Castle, the ancient baronial residence of 
the family, is situated near the village of Morebattlc, within two or 
three miles of the Cheviot Hills. It has been a place of great strength 
and consequence, but is now ruinous. Tradition affirms, that it was 
founded bv Ilalbert, or Ilabby Kerr, a gigantic warrior, concerning 
whom many stories arc current in Roxburghshire. The Duke of Rox- 
burghc represents Kerr of Cessford. A distinct and powerful branch 
of the same name own the Marquis of Lothian as their chief. Hence 
the distinction betwixt Kerrs of Cessford and Fairnihirst " (i:'Cott). 

109. Lord Cranstoiin. "The Cranstouns, Lord Cranstoun, are an 
ancient Border family, whose chief seat was at Crailing, in Teviotdale. 
They were at this time at feud with the clan of Scott ; for it appears that 
the Lady of Buccleuch, in 1557, beset the Laird of Cranstoun, seeking 
his life. Nevertheless, the same Cranstoun, or perhaps his son, was 
married to a daughter of the same lady" (Scott). 

112. Chrk. Scholar ; or one as learned as the clergy (Latin clericus). 

113. Bethime's line of Picardie. "The Bethuncs were of French 
origin, and derived their name from a small town in Artois. There 
were several distinguished families of the Bethuncs in the neighboring 
province of Picardy; they numbered among their descendants the cele- 
brated Due dc Sully ; and the name was accounted among the most no- 
ble in France, while aught noble remained in that country.- The family 
of Bethune, or Beatoun, in Fife, ])roduccd three learned and dignified 
prelates; namely, Cardinal Beaton and two successive Archbishops of 
Glasgow, all of whom flourished about the date of the romance. Of 
this family was descended Dame Janet Beaton, I^ady Buccleuch, widow 
of Sir Walter Scott of Branksome. She was a woman of masculine 
spirit, as api:)eared from her riding at the head of her son's clan, after 
her husband's murder. She also possessed the hereditary abilities of 
her family in such a degree that the superstition of the vulgar imputed 
them to supernatural knowledge. With this was mingled, by faction, 
the foul accusation of her having influenced Queen ]\Liry to the murder 
of her husband. One of the placards, preserved in Buchanan's Detec- 
tion, accuses of Darnlev's murder 'the Erie of P»othwell, Mr. James 
Balfour, the persoun ofFliske, Mr. David Chalmers, black Mr. John 
Spens, who was principal deviser of the murder: and the Queue, assent- 
ing thairto, throw the persuasion of the Erie Bothwell, and tJu"ii.'itcJic7-aft 
of Lady Bucklcuch ' " (Scott). 

\\^'. Padua. "Padua was long supposed, by the Scottish peasants, 
to be the principal school of necromancy. The Earl of Gowric, slain at 

1 The name is spelt differently by the various families wlio bear it. Carr is selected, 
not as the most correct, but as the most poetical reading. 

2 In a note to the ed. ot" 1821 Scott added: " This expression and sentiment were 
dictated by the oituation of France in the year 1803, when the poeni was orighially 
written." 



CANTO L 159 

Perth, in 1600, pretended, during his studies in Italy, to have acquired 
some knowledge of the cabala, by which, he said, he could charm 
snakes and work other miracles ; and, in particular, could produce 
children without the intercourse of the sexes. — See the Examination 
of Wemyss of Bogie before the Privy Council, concerning Cowrie's 
Conspiracy" (Scott). 

119. Saint A7idrezas cloistered hall. The University of St. Andrew's, 
the oldest in Scotland. The ist ed. has "Saint Kentigerne's hall." 
This latter saint is the same as St. Mungo, the patron of Glasgow. 

120. His form no darkening shadoiv traced, etc. "The shadow of a 
necromancer is independent of the sun. Glycas informs us, that Simon 
Magus caused his shadow to go before him, making people believe it was 
an attendant spirit (Heywood's HierarcJiie, p. 475). The vulgar con- 
ceive, that when a class of students have made a certain progress in their 
mystic studies they are obliged to run through a subterraneous hall, 
where the devil literally catches the hindmost in the race, unless he 
crosses the hall so speedily that the arch-enemy can only apprehend his 
shadow. In the latter case, the person of the sage never after throws 
any shade ; and those who have thus lost their shadow always prove 
the best magicians" (Scott). 

124. Till to her bidding, cic. "The Scottish vulgar, without having 
any very defined notion of their attriluites, believe in the existence of an 
intermediate class of spirits, residing in the air or in the waters; to 
whose agency they ascribe floods, storms, and all such phenomeiia as 
their own philosophy cannot readily explain. They are supposed to 
interfere in the affairs of mortals, sometimes with a malevolent pur- 
pose, and sometimes with milder views. It is said, for example, that a 
gallant baron, having returned from the Holy Land to his castle of 
Drummelziar, found his fair lady nursing a healthy child, whose birth 
did not by any means correspond to the date of his departure. Such 
an occurrence, to the credit of the dames of the Crusaders be it spoken, 
was so rare that it required a miraculous solution. The lady, there- 
fore, was believed, when she averred confidently that the Spirit of the 
Tweed had issued from the river while she was walking upon its bank, 
and compelled her to submit to his embraces : and the name of Tweedie 
was bestowed upon the child, who afterwards became Baron of Drum- 
melziar and chief of a powerful clan. To those spirits were also as- 
cribed, in Scotland, the 

' airy tongues, tliat syllable men's names. 
On sands, and shores, and desert wildernesses.' 

" When the workmen were engaged in erecting the ancient church of 
Old Deer, in Aberdeenshire, upon a small hill called Bissau, they were 
surprised to find that the work was impeded by supernatural obstacles. 
At length, the Spirit of the River was heard to say, 

* It is not here, it is not here, 
That ye shall build the church of Deer ; 
But on Taptillery, 
Where many a corpse shall lie.' 



1 60 NO TES. 

The site of the edifice was accordingly transferred to Taptillery, an 
eminence at some distance from tlie place where the building had been 
commenced {Macfarlane's MSS.). I mention these popular fables, be- 
cause the introduction of the River and Mountain Spirits may not, at 
first sight, seem to accord with the general tone of the romance and 
the superstitions of the country where the scene is laid" (Scott). 

126. Bo7oe7'. See on 2 above. 

127. Lord Davi(Vs western tozver. "The Castle of Branksome was 
enlarged and strengthened by Sir David Scott, grandson of Sir William, 
the first possessor. The Ladye sits in the western tower, from which 
she could look up the Teviot to the fells on which the moonbeams were 
playing" (M.). 

131. Scaur. "A precipitous bank of earth " (Scott). 

132. Is it the wind, etc. Cf. Christabel, 44: "Is it the wind that 
moaneth bleak .'^ " and Saijit Szui things Chair in Waverley : 

" Is it the moody owl that shrieks? 
Or is it that sound, 'tvvixt laughter and scream. 
The voice of the Demon that haunts the stream ? " 

137. Ban-dog. Properly hand-dog, or watch-dog tied or chained up. 
Cole, in his Diet.. 167Q, renders ban-dog by " canis catenatus." Cf. 
2 Henrv VI. i 4. 21 : "The time when screech-owls cry and ban-dogs 
howl."' 

147. Echo. Perhaps accented on the second syllable, as M. believes. 
It is possible, however, to give the word its ordinary accent without 
making the measure more irregular than in other parts of this same 
stanza. 

154. From Craik-cross to Skclfhill-pen. Two high hills on opposite 
sides of the upper waters of the Teviot. Professor Veitch suggested to 
M. that Scott may have chosen Craikcross from its occurrence in Thomas 
the Rymer's lines : 

" Atween Craik Cross and Eildon-tree 
Is a' the safety there shall be." 

155. By every rill. M. quotes Chaucer, Wife of Bath'' s Tale: 

" In olde dayes of the Kyng Arthour, 
Of which that Britouns speken gret honour, 
Al was this lond fulfilled of fayrie ; 
The elf-queen, with her joly compaignye,^ 
Daunced ful oft in many a greene mede." 

156. Morris. The morris-dance was one of the sports of May-day, 
and sometimes of other festivals, in the olden time. Cf. Shakespeare, 
A. W. ii. 2. 25 : "As fit as ... a morris for May-day," etc. The dance 
was in fashion, it is said, at the court of James IV. of Scotland. 

158. Emerald rings. The so-called " fairy rings." Cf. Shakespeare, 
M. N. D. ii. I. 86 : "To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind." 

159. Deft and merrily. Apparently for "deftly and merrily," one 
sutfix serving for both adverbs, as not unfrequently in Elizabethan Eng- 
lish. Cf. Shakespeare,/. C. ii. I. 224: "look fresh and merrily;" 
T. N.\. I. 135 : " most jocund, apt, and willingly," etc. For a similar 



CANTO T. i6i 

ellipsis of the possessive inflection (also common in Elizabethan writers), 
see V. 295 below. 

170. Arfhurs slow wain. This is evidently another name for 
"Charles's Wain," or the "Great Dipper," in' the constellation of 
Ursa Major. Gawain Douglas, in his translation of i\i& ^neid [\^\^) 
renders " Arcturus" by '* Arthury's hufe," or Arthur's chapel. 

177. Deign ihcy sh<nve7'. The ellipsis of the to of the infinitive is a 
poetic license. Cf. v. 398 below. 

Influence is an astrological term, and is rarely used by our early 
writers except with reference, direct or indirect, to the power of the 
heavenly bodies. Cf. Hamlet, i. i. 119: 

" t]ie moist star 
Upon whose influence Neptune's empire stands ; " 

Milton, P. L., iv. 669 : 

"which these soft fires 
Not only enlighten, but with kindly heat 
Of various influence foment ami warm. 
Temper or nourish, or in part shed down 
Their stellar virtue on all kinds that grow 
On earth," etc. 

See also yol\ xxxviii. 31. 

179. Till pride he quelled and love be free. It has been well said that 
this line " may be taken as the motto of the Lay.'"' Cf. v. 413 below. 

191. And your streams ascend. A very ancient expression for an im- 
possibility. P. quotes the famous 'avca irorafjiSiv Upwv x<^pov(rL irayai of 
the chorus in Medea, and Horace's " pronos relabi posse rivos." 

197. Moss-trooper. ''This was the usual appellation of the marauders 
upon the Borders ; a profession diligently pursued by the inhabitants 
on both sides, and by none more actively and successfully than by Buc- 
cleuch's clan. Long after the union of the crowns, the moss-troopers, 
although sunk in reputation, and no longer enjoying the pretext of 
national hostility, continued to pursue their calling. 

"Fuller includes, among the wonders of Cumberland, 'The moss- 
troopers: so strange in the condition of their living, if considered in 
their Original, Increase, Height^ Decay, and Riiinc. 

"'i. Original. I conceive them the same called Borderers in Mr. 
Camden ; and characterized by him to be a wild and warlike people. 
They are called moss-troopers, because dwelling in the mosses, and rid- 
ing in troops together. They dwell in the bounds, or meeting, of the 
two kingdoms, but obey the laws of neither. They come to church 
as seldom as the 29th of February comes into the kalendar. 

"*2. Increase. When England and Scotland were united in Great 
Britain, they that formerly lived by hostile incursions, betook them- 
selves to the robbing of their neighbors. Their sons are free of the 
trade by their fathers' copy. They are like to Job, not in piety and 
patience, but in sudden plenty and poverty; sometimes having flocks 
and herds in the morning, none at night, and perchance many again 
next day. They may give for their motto, vivitnr ex rapto, stealing from 
their honest neighbors what they sometimes require. They are a nest 

II 



i62 NOTES. 

of hornets ; strike one, and stir all of them about your ears. Indeed, 
if they promise safely to conduct a traveller, they will jjerform it with 
the fidelity of a Turkish janizary ; otherwise, woe be to him that falleth 
into their quarters ! 

" ' 3. Height. Amounting, forty years since, to some thousands. 
These compelled the vicinage to purchase their security, by paying a 
constant rent to them. When in their greatest height, they had two great 
enemies, — the Laws of the Land, and the Lord William LToiuard of 
AhiiuortJi. He sent many of them to Carlisle, to that place where the 
officer doth always his work by daylight. Yet these moss-troopers, if 
possibly they could procure the pardon for a condemned person of their 
company, would advance great sums out of their common stock, who, 
in such a case, cast in their lots amongst themselves, and all have one 
purse. 

"'4. Decay. Caused by the wisdom, valor, and diligence of the 
Right Honorable Charles Lord Howard, Earl of Carlisle, who routed 
these English Tories with his regiment. His severity unto them will 
not only be excused, but commended, by the judicious, who consider 
how our great lawyer doth describe such persons, who are solemnly 
outlawed (Bracton, lib. viii. trac. 2. cap. 11): ''Ex tnnc ge7'iint caput 
hipinnm, ita quod sine judiciali inqiiisitione rite per eant, et sec2im situm 
judicium portent ; et merito sine lege pereunt, qui secundum legem vivere 
recusdrunt." — "Thenceforward (after that they are outlawed) they wear 
a wolf's head, so that they lawfully may be destroyed, without anv judi- 
cial inquisition, as who carry their own condemnation about them, and 
deservedly die without law, because they refused to live according 
to law." ' 

" ' 5. Ruine. Such was the success of this worthy lord's severity, that 
he made a thorough reformation among them ; and the ringleaders being 
destroyed, the rest are reduced to legal obedience, and so, I trust, will 
continue' (Fuller's Worthies of England, p. 216). 

" The last public mention of moss-troopers occurs during the civil 
wars of the 17th century, when many ordinances of Parliament were 
directed against them" (Scott). 

200. Eoray. "A predatory inroad " (Scott). 

207. Unicorn''s. As Lockhart remarks, Scott's pronunciation of the 
r in this word would make it a quadrisyllable {Unicoruns) and thus fill 
out the measure, which otherwise would be defective. 

208. The Crescents and the Star. This is the reading of the early eds., 
and is doubtless what Scott wrote. He has the following note here : 
" The arms of the Kerrs of Cessford were, Vert on a cheveron, betwixt 
three unicorns' heads erased argent, three mullets sable ; crest, a uni- 
corn's head erased proper. The Scotts of Buccleuch bore, Or, on a 
bend azure ; a star of six points betwixt two crescents of the first.'' 
The ed. of 1821 has " Crescent" — probably a misprint — and has been 
followed in all the more recent reprints. 

214. ]Villiain of Deloraine. " llie lands of Deloraine are joined to 
those of Buccleuch in Ettrick Forest. They were immemorially pos- 
sessed by the Buccleuch family, under the strong title of occupancy, 
although no charter was obtained from the crown until 1545. Like 



CANTO I. 163 

other possessions, the lands of Deloraine were occasionally granted by 
them to vassals or kinsmen for Border service. Satchells mentions, 
among the twenty-four gentlemen-pensioners of the family, ' William 
Scott, commonly called Cut-at-tlic-Black, who had the lands of Nether 
Deloraine, for his service.' And again, 'This William of Deloraine, 
commonly called Ciit-at-the-Black, was a brother of the ancient house of 
Haining, which house of Haining is descended from the ancient house 
of Hassendean.' The lands of Deloraine now give an earl's title to the 
descendant of Henry, the second surviving son of the Duchess of 
Buccleuch and Monmouth. I have endeavored to give William of 
Deloraine the attributes which characterized the Borderers of his day ; 
for which I can only plead Froissart's apology, that, 'it behoveth, in a 
lynage, some to be folyshe and outrageous, to maynteyne and sustayne 
the peasable.' As a contrast to my Marchman, I beg leave to transcribe, 
from the same author, the speech of Amergot Marcell, a captain of the 
Adventurous Companions, a robber, and a pillager of the country of 
Auvergne, who had been bribed to sell his strongholds, and to assume 
a more honorable military life under the banners of the Earl of Armag- 
nac. But 'when he remembered alle this, he was sorrowful; his tre- 
sour he thought he wolde not mynysshe ; he was wonte dayly to serche 
for newe pyllages, wherbye encresed his profyte, and then he sawe 
that alle was closed fro hyrn. Then he sayde and imagyned, that to 
pyll and to robbe (all thynge considered) was a good lyfe, and so re- 
pented hyni of his good doing. On a tyme, he said to his old com- 
panyons, " Sirs, there is no sporte nor glory in this worlde amonge men 
of warre, but to use suche lyfe as we have done in tyme past. What a 
joy was it to us when we rode forth at adventure, and somtyme found 
by the way a riche priour or merchaunt, or a route of mulettes of Mount- 
pellyer, of Narbonne, of Lymens, of Fongans, of Besyers, of Tholous, or 
of Carcasonne, laden with cloth of Brussels, or peltre ware comynge fro 
the fayres, or laden with spycery fro Bruges, fro Damas, or fro Alysaun- 
dre ; whatsoever we met, all was ours, or els ransoumed at our pleas- 
ures ; dayly we gate new money, and the vyllaynes of Auvergne and of 
Lymosyn dayly provyded and brought to our castell whete mele, good 
wynes, beffes, and fatte mottons, pullayne, and wylde foule: W^e were 
ever furnyshed as tho we had been kings. When we rode forthe, all 
the countrey trymbled for feare : all was ours goyng and comynge. 
How tok we Carlast, I and the Bourge of Companye, and I and Perot 
of Bernoys took Caluset ; how dyd we scale, with lytell ayde.the strong 
castell of Marquell, pertayning to the Erl Dolphyn : I kept it nat past 
fyve days, but I receyved for it, on a feyre table, fyve thousande frankes, 
and forgave one thousande for the love of the Erl Dolphyn's children. 
By my fayth, this was a fayre and a good lyfe ! wherefore I repute my- 
selfe sore deceyved, in that I have rendered u]) the fortress of Aloy^; 
for it wolde have kept fro alle the worlde, and the daye that I gave it 
up, it was fournyshecl with vytaylles, to have been kept seven yere with- 
out any re-vytayllinge. This Erl of Armynake hath decevved me: 
Olyve Barbe, and Perot le Bernoys, shewed to me how I shulde repente 
myselfe : certayne I sore repente mvselfe of what I have done"'" 
(Scott). 



1 64 NOTES. 

2iS. The paths to cross. In the introduction to the Border Mijistrelsy, 
Scott quotes a passage from Camden's Britannia concerning the Bor- 
derers, which explains why a knowledge of safe paths through sands 
and mosses was an important matter for the moss-trooper: "What 
manner of cattle stealers they are, that inhabit these valleys in the 
marches of both kingdoms, John Lesley, a Scotchman himself, and 
bishop of Ross, will inform you. They sally out of their own borders, 
in the night, in troops, through unfrequented bye-waA^s, and many intri- 
cate windings. All the day time, they refresh themselves and their 
horses, in lurking holes they had pitched upon before, till thev arrive in 
the dark at those places they have a design upon. As soon as they 
have seized upon the booty, they, in like manner, return home in the 
night, through blind ways, and fetching many a com]jass. The more 
skilful any captain is to pass through those wild deserts, crooked turn- 
ings, and deep precipices, in the thickest mists and darkness, his rejiu- 
tation is the greater." So/way Sa>ids are. described in Letter IV. of 
Redgauiitlet. 

219. By 7uily turns, tic. Scott remarks: "The kings and heroes of 
Scotland, as well as the Border-riders, were sometimes obliged to study 
how to evade the pursuit of blood-hounds. Barbour informs us that 
Robert Bruce was repeatedly tracked by sleuth-dogs. On one occa- 
sion, he escaped by wading a bow-shot down a brook, and ascending 
into a tree by a branch which overhung the water; thus, leaving no 
trace on land of his footsteps, he battled the scent. The pursuers 
came up : — 

' Rycht to the burn tliai passyt ware, 
Bot the sleutli-huncl made stinting thar, 
And waiieryt lang tyme ta and fra, 
That lie na certain gate couth ga ; 
Till at the last that John of Lome 
Perseuit the hund the sleuth had lorne ' {The Brjice, Book vii.). 

" A sure way of stopping the dog was to spill blood upon the track, 
which destroyed the discriminating fineness of his scent. A captive 
was sometimes sacrificed on such occasions. Henry the Minstrel tells 
a romantic story of Wallace, founded on this circumstance: — The 
hero's little band had been joined by an Irishman, named Fawdoun, or 
Fadzean, a dark, savage, and suspicious character. After a sharp 
skirmish at Black-Erne Side, AVallace was forced to retreat with only 
sixteen followers. The English pursued with a Border sleuth-bratc/i, 
or blood-hound. 

' In Gelderland there was that bratchet bred, 
Siker ot" scent, to follow them that fled ; 
So was he used in Eske and Liddesdail, 
While (i. e. ////) she gat blood no fleeing might avail.' 

" In the retreat, Fawdoun, tired, or affecting to be so, would go no 
farther. Wallace, having in vain argued with him, in hasty anger, 
struck off his head, and continued the retreat. When the English 
came up, their hound stayed upon the dead body: — 

'The sleuth stopped at Fawdon, still she stood, 
Nor farther would fra time she fund the blood.' 



CANTO I. 165 

" The story concludes with a fine Gothic scene of terror. Wallace 
took refuge in the solitary tower of Gask. Here he was disturbed at 
midnight by the blast of a horn. He sent out his attendants by two 
and two, but no one returned with tidings. At length, when he was 
left alone, the sound was heard still louder. The champion descended, 
sword in hand ; and, at the gate of the tower, was encountered by the 
headless spectre of Faw^doun, whom he had slain so rashly. Wallace, 
in great terror, fled up into the tower, tore open the boards of a win- 
dow, leapt down fifteen feet in height, and continued his flight up the 
river. Looking back to Gask, he discovered the tower on fire, and the 
form of Fawdoun upon the battlements, dilated to an immense size, and 
holding in his hand a blazing rafter. The Minstrel concludes. 

'Trust ryght wele, that all this be sooih indeed, 
Supposing it be no point of the creed ' {The Wallace, Book v.). 

"Mr. Ellis [Spec hnens of English Poetry, vol. i. p. 351) has extracted 
this tale as a sample of Henry's poetry." 

223. Time or tide. The latter word is used in its old sense of time or 
season ; properly, an allotted time or appointed season. Cf. the com- 
pounds, as noontide, eventide, etc. See also vi. 50 below. 

226. Pri?ne. The noun, matin being here an adjective. Cf. Spenser, 
F. Q. ii. 9. 25: "Early and late it rong, at evening and at prime." As 
an ecclesiastical term it means " the first canonical hour of the day." 

231. Good at need. Cf. ii. 178 below. Scott found the expression in 
the ballad of The Raid of Reds^oire, which he prints in the Border Min- 
strelsy: " Wi' Cranstane, Gladstain, good at need." The repetition is 
also in the ballad style; and Homeric withal, as M. and P. have noted. 

232. Wightest. See on -Tf) above. 

238. The fated hater. See ii. 162 fol. below. 
241. St. Michael's night. Michaelmas, September 29th. 
243. The cross, etc. See ii. 169, 189 below. 

249. Lorn. Lost. The old participle survives in forlorn. Cf. also 
lass-lorn in Shakespeare, Temp. iv. i. 68 : 

" and thy broom groves, 
Whose shadow the dismissed bachelor loves, 
Being lass-lorn." 

251. O swiftly, etc. The movement of the measure is in keeping with 
the sense. 

253. Gan. Scott prints " 'gan," but the word is not a contraction of 
began. See Wb. or Skeat. 

258. Were^t my neck-verse, etc. ^^ Hairibee wzs the place of executing 
the Border marauders at Carlisle. The neck-verse is the beginning of the 
51st Psalm, Miserere mei, etc., anciently read by criminals claiming 
the benefit of clergy" (Scott). M. adds: "The clergy originally ob- 
tained freedom from secular jurisdiction on the strength of the text, 
'Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.' In process 
of time this benefit of clergy was claimed for everybody that could read, 
all such persons being handed over to be dealt with bv ecclesiastical 
authority. If not handed over to the church, the convicted criminal 
was burnt in the brawn of his left thumb, and not allowed the privilege 



i66 NOTES. 

a second time. The last remains of the privilege were not abolished 
till the reign of George IV. With Deloraine's ignorance of letters, 
compare Dickie of Dryhope in the ballad of Kinmoiit Willie : 

' Now Dickie of Dryliope led that band, 
And the never a word o' lear had he.' 

Or the boast of the Earl of Angus in Mannion (vi. 460) : 

' Tlianks to St. Bothan, son of mine, 
Save Gawain, ne'er could spell a line.' " 

On Hairibee, cf. also Kiiwiont Willie : 

"O hauc ye na heard o' the fause Sakelde ? 

O hauc yc na heard o' the ];cen Lord Scroope ? 
How they hauc ta'cn bauld Kinmont Willie, 
On I-Iaribee to hang him up." 

The Critical Reviciv remarks : " In the rough but spirited sketch of the 
marauding Borderer, and in the naivete oi his last declaration, the reader 
will recognize some of the most striking features of the ancient ballad." 

260. 7'he steep descent. "The entrance to a feudal castle from the 
grated portal inwards was generally steep, and paved with smooth peb- 
bles, making the footing uncertain. The first part of Deloraine's ride 
was not the least difficult " (M.). 

261. Barl'ican. "The defence of the outer gate of a feudal castle" 
(Scott). As M. remarks, the epithet .v^//;/(?'/;/^o- indicates that Scott prob- 
ably took his idea of a barbican from Alnwick Castle, where there is a 
verv fine gate and barbican of the Edwardian period (see Clark's Mcdi- 
{2val Military Architecture, vol. i. p. 180). The barbican is 55 feet long, 
strong masonry protecting a passage to the gate about 10 feet broad. 
The outer part of the passage is vaulted to the length of about 20 feet, 
the rest open to the sky. This explains the sounding. The real Brank- 
some Tower in all likelihood had no such magnificent adjunct. It is 
what Scott would have called a " poetical ornament." 

264. Basnet. The basnet, or basinet, was a basin-shaped helmet. Cf. 
Marviion, vi. 627 : " My basnet to a prentice cap," etc. 

265. Peel. " A Border tower" (Scott). Clark (quoted by M.) defines 
it as " a stronghold of which the tower is the only considerable work, 
and which stands within a walled base-court or barmkin of moderate 
area." These simple square towers are characteristic of the Scottish 
Border. Borthwick Tower in Midlothian is the finest specimen. They 
depended for their powers of resistance on passive strength. The walls 
were so thick that very little damage could be done to them by parties 
of forayers, even if they were captured by surprise. By a Scottish stat- 
ute of 1535 it was enacted that every barmkin wall must be at least a 
yard thick, six yards high, and must enclose at least sixty square feet. 
The tower was built within this outer work. Another name for the 
peel was '' bastle-house," Fr. bastille. 

267. The Moat-hilfs mound. " This is a round artificial mount near 
Hawick, which, from its name {/Ifot, A. S. Concilium, Conventus), was 
probably anciently used as a place for assembling a national council of 
the adjacent tribes. There are many such mounds in Scotland, and 
they are sometimes, but rarely, of a square form " (Scott). 



CANTO I. 167 

272. Hazeldean. The estate of Hazeldean, corruptly Hasseiidean (the 
present name of the neighboring village and railway station), belonged 
formerly to a family of Scotts, thus commemorated by Satchells : — 

" Hasseiidean came without a call, 
The ancieiitest house among them all." 

282. The Roman zvay. " An ancient Roman road, crossing through 
part of Roxburghshire" (Scott). 

285. Drew saddle-girth, etc. In preparation for a possible encounter 
with Bariihill ; for so the name is given in all the eds., though in the 
note on 2S7 Scott makes it " Barnhills." 

287. Miiito-crags. Scott has the following note here : " A romantic 
assemblage of cliffs, which rise suddenly above the vale of Teviot, in 
the immediate vicinity of the family-seat from which Lord Minto takes 
his title. A small platform, on a projecting crag, commanding a most 
beautiful prospect, is termed Ba)-nhills' Bed. This Barnhills is said to 
have been a robber, or outlaw. There are remains of a strong tower 
beneath the rocks, where he is supposed to have dwelt, and from which 
he derived his name. On the summit of the crags are the fragments of 
another ancient tower, in a picturesque situation. Among the houses 
cast down by the Earl of Hertford, in 1545, occur the towers of Easter 
Barnhills, and of Minto-crag, with Minto town and place. Sir Gilbert 
Elliot, father to the present Lord Minto, ^ was the author of a beautiful 
pastoral song, of which the following is a more correct copy than is 
usually published. The poetical mantle of Sir Gilbert Elliot has de- 
scended to his family. 

' ]\Iy sheep I neglected, I broke my sheep-hook, 
And all the gay haunts of my youth I forsook : 
No more for Amynta fresh garlands I wove; 
Ambition, I said, would soon cure me of love. 
But what had my youth with ambition to do ! 
Why left I Amynta ! why broke I my vow ! 

'Through regions remote in vain do I rove, 
And bid the wide world secure me from love. 
Ah, fool, to imagine, that anglu could subdue 
A love so well founded, a passion so true ! 
Ah, give me my sheep, and my sheep-hook restore I 
And I '11 wander from love and Amynta no more 1 

'Alas ! 'tis too late at thy fate to repine ! 
Poor shepherd, Amynta no more can be thine ! 
Thy tears are all fruitless, thy wishes are vain. 
The moments neglected return not again. 
Ah ! what had my youth with ambition to do! 
Why left I .Amynta! why broke I my vow ! ' " 

296. The warbling Doric reed. Referring to the pastoral just quoted. 

300. Riddel's fair domain. " The family of Riddel have been very 
long in possession of the barony called Riddel, or Rvedale, part of 
which still bears the latter name. Tradition carries their antiquity to 
a point extremely remote ; and is, in some degree, sanctioned by the 
discovery of two stone coffins, one containing an earthen pot filled with 

^ Grandfather to the present Earl 1S19). 



1 68 ■ A'OTES. 

ashes and arms, bearing a legible date, a.d. 727 ; the other dated 936 
and filled with the bones of a man of gigantic size. These coffins were 
discovered in the foundations of what was, but has long ceased to be, 
the chapel of Riddel ; and as it was argued, with plausibility, that they 
contained the remains of some ancestors of the family, they were de- 
posited in the modern place of sepulture, comparatively so termed, 
thouQ;h built in mo. But the following curious and authentic docu- 
ments warrant most conclusively the epithet of ' ancient Riddel : ' ist, 
A charter by David I. to Walter Rydale, vSheriff of Roxburgh, confirm- 
ing all the estates of Liliesclive, etc., of which his father, Gervasius de 
Rydale, died possessed. 2dly, A bull of Pope Adrian IV., confirming 
the will of Walter de Ridale, knight, in favor of his brother Anschittil 
de Ridale, dated 8th April, 11 55. 3dly, A bull of Pope Alexander III., 
confirming the said will of Walter de Ridale, bequeathing to his 
brother Anschittil the lands of Liliesclive, Whittunes, etc., and ratify- 
ing the bargain betwixt Anschittil and Huctredus, concerning the 
church of Liliesclive, in consequence of the mediation of Malcolm II., 
and confirmed by a charter from that monarch. This bull is dated 17th 
June, 1 160. 4thly, A bull of the same Pope, confirming the will of Sir 
Anschittil de Ridale, in favor of his son Walter, conveying the said 
lands of Liliesclive and others, dated lOth March, 1170. It is lemark- 
able that Liliesclive, otherwise Rydale, or Riddel, and the Whittunes, 
have descended, through a long train of ancestors, without ever passing 
into a collateral line, to the person of Sir John Buchanan Riddel, Bart, 
of Riddell, the lineal descendant and representative of Sir Anschittil. 
These circumstances appeared worthy of notice in a Border work"i 
(Scott). 

301. Aill. The Aill or Ale is a small stream flowing into the Teviot 
near Ancrum. On its banks are several caves, one of which is said to 
have been a favorite retreat of Thomson the poet. 

311. Bardcd. -'Applied to a horse accoutred with defensive armor" 
(Scott). See on 38 above. 

313. Never heavier man and horse, etc. The weight of a full suit of 
armor was from 150 to 200 pounds. 

319. March-man. Borderer; inhabitant of the march {=marh), or 
frontier. 

321. Ilalidon. "An ancient seat of the Kerrs of Cessford, now de- 
molished. About a quarter of a mile to the northward lay the field of 
battle betwixt Buccleuch and Angus, which is called to this day the 
Skirmish Field" (Scott). See on 57 above. 

334. Old i\Iclros\ Melrose Abbey. Scott has this note here : "The 
ancient and beautiful monastery of Melrose was founded by King 
David I. Its ruins afford the finest specimen of Gothic architecture 
and Gothic sculpture which Scotland can boast. The stone of which 
it is built, though it has resisted the weather for so many ages, retains 
])erfect sharpness, so that even the most minute ornaments seem as 
entire as when newly wrought. In some of the cloisters, as is hinted in 

' Since the above note was written, the ancient family of Riddel have parted with all 
their Scotch estates (Lodchart). 



CANTO II. 169 

the next Canto, there are representations of flowers, vegetables, etc., 
carved in stone, witli accuracy and precision so delicate that we almost 
distrust our senses, when we consider the ditificulty of subjecting so hard 
a substance to such intricate and exquisite modulation. This superb 
convent was dedicated to St. Mary, and the monks were of the Cister- 
tian order. At the time of the Reformation, they shared in the general 
reproach of sensuality and irregularity, thrown upon the Roman church- 
men. The old words of Galashiels, a favorite Scottish air, ran thus : — 

'O the monks of Melrose made gude kale ^ 

On Fridays when they fasted : 
They wanted neither beef nor ale, 
As long as their neighbors' lasted.' " 

See also on ii. 16, 113 below. 

336. Abbaye. The French for abbey, used for the sake of the rhyme. 

337. Cu?'few. "The name is still given to the eight o'clock bell rung 
every evening in Scotch towns" (M.). 

338. Lauds. " The midnight service of the Catholic Church " (Scott). 
341. That wild harp. The /Eolian harp. 

352. Diffident of. Distrustful or doubtful of. Cf. the only two in- 
stances of the adjective in Milton's poems — P. L. viii. 562 : 

" and be not diffident 
Of wisdom ; " 

and Id. ix. 293 : " Not diffident of thee." See also his one use of the 
noun, in S. A. 454 : " diffidence of God." 

360. His hand was irtie, etc. For the indirect quotation, see on 
introd. 50 above. 



CANTO SECOND. 

I. If thou wouldst viezo, etc. It is said that Scott, when he wrote 
these lines, had never seen Melrose Abbey bv moonlight. 

Jeffrey remarks: "In the description of Melrose which introduces 
the Second Canto, the reader will observe how skilfully the author calls 
in the aid of sentimental associations to heighten the effect of the 
picture which he presents to the eve." 

6. Oriel. Scott is often inaccurate in his use of the technicalities of 
Gothic architecture, as here with oriel, which apparently means a mul- 
lioned window. Cf. Parker, Glossary of Architecture : "Any projecting 
portion of a room or even of a building was called an oriole, such as a 
penthouse, or such as a closet, bower, or private chamber, an upper 
story, or a gallery; and the term became last of all applied to a pro- 
jecting window, in which there was often an altar, and it was screened 
off to form an oratory, as in Linlithgow Palace, Scotland. This name 
is often erroneously given to the bay-window of a hall for the sideboard, 
hence Of'iel-window, which we retain to the present day." 

* Kale, Broth. 



1 70 NOTES. 

10. Ebon. Ebony. Cf. Drayton, Barons^ Wars, iv. : "Doth ask a 
pen of ebon and the night." 

11. Imagery. "A somewhat archaic use of the word for carved or 
painted figures" (M.). Cf. QA\2^nc<tx, House of Fa7ne,\\\. loo: " ymage- 
ries and tabernacles ; " and The Sqiiyr of Loiue Degre, 93 : 

" In her oryall there she was 
Closed well with royal glass. 
Fulfylled it was with ymagery." 

12. And the scrolls, etc. "The buttresses ranged along the sides of 
the ruins of Melrose Abbey are, according to the Gothic style, richl}' 
carved and fretted, containing niches for the statues of saints, and 
labelled with scrolls, bearing appropriate texts of Scripture. Most of 
these statues have been demolished" (Scott). 

16. Saint Davicfs riiined pile. "David I. of Scotland, purchased the 
reputation of sanctity, by founding, and liberally endowing, not only 
the monastery of Melrose, but those of Kelso, Jedburgh, and many 
others; which led to the well-known observation of his successor, that 
he was a sore saint for the crozun" (Scott). No part of the present 
Abbey, however, belongs to the time of David I. The original structure, 
completed in 1146. was destroyed by the English in their retreat under 
Edward II. in 1322. Four years later it was rebuilt in the most mag- 
nificent style of the day, but was again destroyed in the invasion of 
Scotland by Richard II. in 1385. In the existing edifice there is scarcely 
anything older than the end of the 14th century. After being a second 
time rebuilt, it was plundered in 1545 by the English under Evers and 
Latoun, and soon afterwards received more serious damage from the 
Earl of Hertford. Further mischief was done it by the Reformers, and 
later it suffered at the hands of those who despoiled it for the sake of 
its materials. Finally, in 1618, the nave was disfigured by piers and 
arches built in converting the abbey into a Presbyterian church. It is 
now the property of the IJuke of Buccleuch, and the ruins are carefully 
preserved. 

17. Soothly. Truly. See on introd. 67 above. 

28. Fence'. Defend. Cf. 3 Hen. VL iii. 3. 98: "Oxford, that did ever 
fence the right," etc. 

" The Buccleuch family were great benefactors to the Abbey of Mel- 
rose. As early as the reign of Robert II., Robert Scott, Baron of 
Murdieston and Rankleburn (now Buccleuch), gave to the monks the 
lands of Hinkery, in Ettrick Yoxo-^^X., pro salute anivue sitce'''' ['^coW). 

39. Aventayle. "The visor of the helmet" (Scott). The word is 
derived from the Latin ventus, and ''means the lower part of a helmet 
before the face which was raised to admit air, turning on hinges at the 
sides of the head." 

51. And (la/est tho?i, etc. "The use of alliteration in the Monk's 
speech is worth remarking. It seems intended to heighten the contrast 
between the old man's scared and ghostly manner and the bluff abrupt- 
ness of the moss-trooper " (M.). 

53. My breast, etc. The "absolute" construction is obscured by the 
semicolon after t/iorn in all the eds. 



CANTO II. 171 

60. Drie. Suffer, endure. Cf. Chaucer, T. and C. v. 296: 

" ' My Pandariis ' (quod Troikis) ' the sorow 
Which that I drie, I may not long endure.' " 

64. Prayer know I hardly one. " The Borderers were, as may be 
supposed, very ignorant about religious matters. Colville, in his Para- 
nesis, or Admonition, states, that the reformed divines were so far from 
undertaking distant journeys to convert the Heathen, 'as I wold wis at 
God that ye wold only go bot to the Hielands and Borders of our own 
realm, to gain our awin countreymen, who, for lack of preching and 
ministration of the sacraments, must, with tyme, becum either infidells, 
or atheists.' But we learn, from Lesly, that, however deficient in real 
religion, they regularly told their beads, and never with more zeal than 
when going on a plundering expedition " (Scott). Prayer is a dis- 
syllable in this line (as in 6S below), but a monosyllable in the next. 

79. Beneath their feet, tic. "The cloisters were frequently used as 
places of sepulture. An instance occurs in Dryl^urgh Abbey, where 
the cloister has an inscription bearing Hie jacet frater Archibaldits" 
(Scott). Those who have visited the cloisters of Westminster Abbey 
will remember the ancient graves and inscriptions there. 

88. So had he seen, etc. " '*' By my faith," sayd the Duke of Lancas- 
ter (to a Portuguese squire), "of all the feates of armes that the Cas- 
tellyans, and they of your countrey doth use, the castynge of their dertes 
best pleaseth me, and gladly I wokle se it : for, as I hear say, if they 
strike one aryghte, without he be w^ell armed, the dart will pierce him 
thrughe." " By my fayth, sir," sayd the squyer, "ye saytrouth; for I 
have seen many a grete stroke given with them, which at one time cost 
us derely, and was to us great displeasure ; for, at the said skyrmishe. 
Sir John Laurence of Coygne was striken with a dart in such wise, 
that the head perced all the plates of his cote of mayle, and a sacke 
stopped with sylke, and passed thrughe his body, so that he fell down 
dead " ' (Froissart, vol. ii. ch. 44). This mode of fighting with darts was 
imitated in the military game called Jeugo de las canas, which the Span- 
iards borrowed from their Moorish invaders. A Saracen champion is 
thus described by Froissart : ' Among the Sarazyns, there was a yonge 
knight called Agadinger Dolyferne ; he was always wel mounted on a 
redy and a lyght horse ; it seemed, when the horse ranne, that he did 
fly in the ayre. The knighte seemed to be a good man of armes by his 
dedes; he bare always of usage three fethered dartes, and rychte well 
he could handle them; and, according to their custome, he was clene 
armed, with a long white towcll about his heed. His api^arell was 
blacke, and his own colour browne, and a good horseman. The Crys- 
ten men say, they thoughte he dyd such deeds of armes for the love of 
some yonge ladye of his countrey. And true it was, that he loved en- 
tirely the King of Thunes daughter, named the LadyAzala; she was 
inherytour to the real me of Thunes, after the discease of the kyng, her 
father. This Agadinger was sone to the Duke of Olyferne. I can nat 
telle if they were married together after or nat ; but it was shewed me, 
that this knyght, for love of the sayd ladye, during the siege, did many 
feates of armes. The knyghtes of France wold fayne have taken hym; 



17^ NOTES. 

but they colde never attrape nor inclose him ; his horse was so swyft, 
and so redy to his hand, that alwaies he escaped ' " (Scott). 

90. Jennet. A small Spanish horse. 

9S. The keystone, etc. "The carved bosses at the intersection of the 
ribs of a vaulted ceiling cannot fairly be called keystones. If they 
could be so called, it is not the ' aisles ' that they lock. By qtiaire-fenille, 
the poet means the four-leaved flower which is so common an ornament 
in the Decorated style. I do not know any authority for this use of the 
word. Qiiatrefoil is applied to an openmg pierced m four foils, much 
used in ornaments, but quite different from a four-leaved boss. A cor- 
bel is a projecting stone or piece of timber supporting a superincumbent 
weight, such as the shaft or small column which supports the ribs of a 
vault. They are carved and moulded in a great variety of ways, often, 
as in Melrose Abbey, in the form of heads and faces " (M.). 

Grose [Antiq. of Scotland, i. 129) thus describes the Abbey: "We 
entered at the south door, and no expression can convey an idea of the 
solemn magnificence which struck the eye. The roof of the north and 
south ends of the transepts remains, supported by intersecting groins, 
of the lightest order; the joinings ornamented with knots, some sculp- 
tured with figures, and others of pierced work in flowers and foliage; 
the arching of the interstices constructed of thin stones, closely jointed; 
over the choir, part of the roof of like workmanship still remains. The 
side aisles are formed by light clustered pillars, richly capitalled, with 
garlands of flowers and foliage dispersed delicately in the mouldings ; 
in some the figures of animals are inters])ersed." 

102. With base. The ist ed. has " With plinth." 

109. O gallant chief of Otterburne ! "The famous and desperate bat- 
tle of Otterburne was fought 15th August, 13S8, betwixt Henry Percy, 
called Hotspur, and James, Earl of Douglas. Both these renowned 
champions w^ere at the head of a chosen body of troops, and they were 
rivals in military fame ; so that Froissart aftirms, ' Of all the battayles 
and encounteryngs that I have made mencion of here before in all "this 
hystory, great or smalle, this battayle that I treat of nowe was one of 
the sorest and best foughten, without cowardes or faynte hertes : for 
there was neyther knyghte nor squyer but that dycle his devoyre, and 
foughte hande to hande. This batayle was lyke the batayle of Becher- 
ell, the which was valiauntly fought and endured.' The issue of the 
conflict is well known : Percy was made prisoner, and the Scots won 
the day, dearly purchased by the death of their gallant general, the Earl 
of Douglas, who was slain in the action. He was buried at Melrose 
beneath the high altar. ' His obsequye was done reverently, and on 
his bodye layde a tombe of stone, and his baner hangyng over hym ' " 
(Scott). 

no. Dark Knight of Liddesdale. "William Douglas, called the 
Knight of Liddesdale, flourished during the reign of David H., and 
was so distinguished by his valor that he was called the Flower of 
Chivalry. Nevertheless, he tarnished his renown by the cruel murder 
of Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie, originally his friend and brother 
in arms. The King had conferred upon Ramsay the sheriffdom of 
Teviotdale, to which Douglas pretended some claim. In revenge of 



CANTO IT. ^73 

this preference, the Knight of Liddesdale came down upon Ramsay, 
while he was administering justice at Hawick, seized and carried hnn 
off to his remote and inaccessible castle of Hermitage, where he threw 
his unfortunate prisoner, horse and man, into a dungeon, and left him 
to perish of hunger. It is said the miserable captive prolonged his ex- 
istence for several davs by the corn which fell from a granary above the 
vault in which he was confined.i So weak was the royal authority, that 
David although highlv incensed at this atrocious murder, found himself 
oblieed to appoint the Knight of Liddesdale successor to his victim, 
as Sheriff of Teviotdale. But he was soon after slain, while hunting 
in Fttrick Forest, by his own godson and chieftain, William, Earl of 
DoucTlas in revenge^ according to some authors, of Ramsay's murder ; 
altho'li^h a popular tradition, preserved in a ballad quoted by Gods- 
croft and some parts of which are still preserved, ascribes the resent- 
ment of the Earl to jealousy. The place where the Knight of Liddesdale 
was killed is called, from his name, William-Cross, upon the ridge of a 
hill called William-hope, betwixt Tweed and Yarrow. His body, ac- 
cording to Godscroft, was carried to Lindean church the first night after 
his dealh, and thence to Melrose, where he was interred with great pomp, 
and where his tomb is still shown" (^cott). ,, ^ . . 

1 1 7 The east oriel. See on 6 above. Scott says here : It is impos- 
sible to conceive a more beautiful specimen of the lightness and ele- 
gance of Gothic architecture, when in its purity, than the eastern window 
of Melrose Abbey. Sir James Hall of Dunglas, IJart. has, with great 
in'^enuitv and plausibility, traced the Gothic order through its various 
forms and seemingly eccentric ornaments, to an architectural imitation 
of wicker work; of which, as we learn from some of the legends, the 
earliest Christian churches were constructed. In such an edifice, the 
orirrinal of the clustered pillars is traced to a set of round posts, begirt 
with slender rods of willow, whose loose summits were brought to meet 
from all quarters, and bound together artificially, so as to produce the 
frame-work of the roof : and the tracery of our Gothic windows is dis- 
played in the meeting and interlacing of rods and hoops, affording an 
inexhaustible variety'of beautiful forms of open work. This ingenious 

1 There is somethinsj affecting in the manner in which the old Prior of Lochleven 
turns from describing the death of the gallant Ramsay, to the general sorrow which it 
excited : — 

" To tell you there of the nianere, 

It is hot sorrow for til here ; 

He wes the grettast nienyd man 

That ony cowth have thnwcht of than, 

Of his state, or of mare be fare ; 

All menyt him, bath bettyr and war; 

The ryche and pure him menyde bath, 

For of his dede was mekil skatii." 

Some years a£;o, a person digging for stones, about the old castle of Hermitage, 
broke into a vault, containing a quantitv of chaff, some bones, and pieces of iron ; 
amon-st others, the curb of an ancient bridle, which the author has smce given to the 
Earl of Dalhousie, under the impression that it possibly may be a relic of his brave an- 
cestor. The worthy clergyman of tiie parish has mentioned this discovery m his statis- 
tical Account of Castletown. 



174 NOTES. 

system is alliulecl lo in ihe romance. Sir James Hall's Essay on Gothic 
Architecture is published in The Ediiilnirgh Philosophical Transactions y 

130. A Scottish viotiarch, etc. "A large marble stone, in the chancel 
of Melrose, is pointed out as the monument of Alexander II., one of 
the greatest of our early kings; others say it is the resting-place of 
Waldcve, one of the early abbots, who died in the odor of sanctity " 
(Scott). 

138. Michael Scott. "Sir Michael Scott of l^ahvearie flourished dur- 
ing the thirteenth century, and was one of the ambassadors sent to 
bring the Maid of Norway to Scotland u]3on the death of Alexander III. 
By a poetical anachronism, he is here ])laced in a later era. He was a 
man of much learning, chiefly acquired in foreign countries. He wrote 
a commentary upon Aristotle, printed at Venice in 1496: and several 
treatises upon natural philosophy, from which he appears to have been 
addicted to the abstruse studies of judicial astrology, alchemy, physiog- 
nomy, and chiromancy. Hence he passed among his contemporaries 
for a skilful magician. Dempster informs us, that he remembers to 
have Jieard in his youth that the magic books of Michael Scott were 
still in existence, but could not be opened without danger, on account 
of the malignant fiends who were thereby invoked. — Dempsteri Historia 
Ecclesiastica, 1627, lib. xii. p. 495. Lesly characterizes Michael Scott as 
'singulariter jjhilosophia;, astronomic, ac medicinse laude prestans ; 
dicebatur penitissimos magije recessus indaga^se.' Dante (////tvv/^, xx.) 
also mentions him as a renowned wizard : 

'Quell altro die ne' fianchi e cosi poco 
Michele Scotto fu, die veiamente 
Delle iiiagiclie fiode seppe il giiioco.' 

"A personage, thus spoken of by biographers and historians, loses 
little of his mystical fame in vulgar tradition. Accordingly, the mem- 
ory of Sir Michael Scott survives in many a legend; and in the south 
of Scotland, any work of great labor and antiquity is ascribed either to 
the agency of Aiild Michael, of Sir William Wallace, or of the devil. 
Tradition varies concerning the place of his burial; some contend for 
Holme Coltrame, in Cumberland, others for Melrose Abbey. But all 
agree, that his books of magic were interred in his grave, or preserved 
in the convent where he died" (Scott). Michael Scott, as M. notes, 
is also mentioned honorably by Roger Bacon, Opus Majus, jip. 36, 37. 
The tradition about his wonderful book of spells is used by Leyden in 
his ballad of Lord Sotilis in the Border Minstrelsy. The book is there 
put in possession of Thomas of Krcildoun : 

"The black sjiiie-book from liis breast he took, 

Impressed with many a warlrrk spell; 
And the book it was wrote by Michael Scott, 

Who held iu awe the fiends ol hell 
They buried it deep, where his bones they sleep. 

That mortal man might never it see ; 
But Thomas did save it from the grave. 

When he returned from Faerie." 

140. Salamanca's cave. Scott says: "Spain, from the relics, douljt, 
less, of Arabian learning and superstition, was accounted a favorite 



CANTO IT. 175 

residence of magicians. Pope Sylvester, who actually imported from 
Spain the use of the Arabian numerals, was supposed to have learned 
there the magic for which he was stigmatized by the ignorance of his 
age ( William of Malmsbiiry, lib. ii. cap. 10). There were public schools 
where magic, or rather the sciences supposed to involve its mysteries, 
were regularly taught, at Toledo, Seville, and Salamanca. In the latter 
city, they were held in a deep cavern ; the mouth of which was walled 
up by Queen Isabella, wife of King Ferdinand (D'Autun On Learned 
fncredtility, p. 45). These Spanish schools of magic are celebrated also 
by the Italian poets of romance : 

* Questo citta di Tolleto solea 
Teiiere studio di ncgronianzi'a, 
Quivi di mas^ica arte si leggea 
Pubblicamente, e di peromanzi'a; 
E molti geomanti scnipre avea, 
E spsriinenti assai d'idromanzia 
E d' altre false opinion' di sciocclii 
Come e fatture, o spesso batter gli occhi ' 

{II Aforganie Maggiore^ canto xxv. st- 259). 

"Tiie celebrated magician Maugis, cousin to Rinaldo of Montalban, 
called, by Ariosto, Malagigi, studied the black art at Toledo, as we 
learn from VHistoire de Mam^is D' Aygremont. He even held a pro- 
fessor's chair in the necromantic university ; for so I interpret tlie pas- 
sage, '' qjCen tons les sept ars d'encJiantenient, des charmes et conjurations, 
il n^y avoit meillienr viaistre qne Ini ; et en tel reno/n qjt'on le laissoit en 
chaise, et I'apf^elloit on inaistre Mangis.' This Salamancan Domdaniel is 
said to have been founded by Hercules. If the classic reader enquires 
where Hercules himself learned magic, he may consult ' Les faicts et 
proesses dn noble et vaillant LLercnles^ where he will learn that the fable 
of his aiding Atlas to support the heavens arose from the said Atlas 
having taught Hercules, the noble knight-errant, the seven liberal sci- 
ences, and in particular that of judicial astrology. Such, according to 
the idea of the middle ages, were the studies, * maximus que? docicit 
Atlas' — In a romantic history of Roderic, the last Gothic King of 
Spain, he is said to have entered one of those enchanted caverns. It 
was situated beneath an ancient tower near Toledo ; and when the iron 
gates which secured the entrance were unfolded, there rushed forth so 
dreadful a whirlwind that hitherto no one had dared to penetrate into 
its recesses. But Roderic, threatened with an invasion of the Moors, 
resolved to enter the cavern, where he expected to find some prophetic 
intimation of the event of the war. Accordingly, his train being fur- 
nished with torches, so artificially composed that the temjjest could not 
extinguish them, the king, with great difficulty, penetrated into a square 
hall, inscribed all over with Arabian characters. In the midst stood a 
colossal statue of brass, representing a Saracen wielding a Moorish 
mace, with which it discharged furious blows on all sides, and seemed 
thus to excite the tempest which raged around. Being conjured by 
Roderic, it ceased from striking until he read, inscribed on the right 
hand, * Wretched inonarch, for thy evil hast thou come hither ;^ on the 
left hand, * Thou shall be dispossessed by a strange people ; ' on one shoul- 



176 



NOTES. 



der, ^/invoke the sons of Hagar ;' on the other, '/ do mine office.^ 
When the king had deciphered these ominous inscriptions, the statue 
returned to its exercise, the tempest commenced anew, and Roderic 
retired, to mourn over the predicted evils which approached his throne. 
He caused the gates of the cavern to be locked and barricaded ; but 
in the course of the night the tower fell with a tremendous noise, and 
under its ruins concealed for ever the entrance to the mystic cavern. 
The conquest of Spain by the Saracens, and the death of the unfor- 
tunate Don Roderic, fulfilled the prophecy of the brazen statue [His- 
toria verdadera del Rey Don Rodrigo por el sabio Alcayde Abidcacini, 
tradnzeda de la lengiia Arabiga por iMiqiiel de Ltuia, 1654, cap. vi.)." 

141. Hi/n listed. It pleased him. For the old impersonal use, cf. 

Surrey, ALneid, iv. : 

" to whatsoever land 
By sliding seas me listed them to lede ; " 

Spenser, F. Q. iv. 9. 35: "In milder tearmes, as list them to devise," 
etc. 

142. T/ie bells would ring in Notre Dame. That is, in the cathedral 
at Paris. " * Tantamne rem tarn negligenter ?' say^s Tyrwhitt, of his 
predecessor, Speight; who, in his commentary on Chaucer, had omitted, 
as trivial and fabulous, the story of Wade and his boat Guingelot, to 
the great prejudice of posterity, the memory of the hero and the boat 
being now entirely lost. That future antiquaries may lay no such 
omission to my charge, I have noted one or two of the most current 
traditions concerning Michael Scott. He was chosen, it is said, to go 
upon an embassy, to obtain from the King of France satisfaction for 
certain piracies committed by his subjects upon those of Scotland. 
Instead of preparing a new equipage and splendid retinue, the ambas- 
sador retreated to his study, opened his book and evoked a fiend in the 
shajje of a huge black horse, mounted upon his back, and forced him to 
fly through the air towards France. As they crossed the sea, the devil 
insidiously asked his rider what it was that the old women of Scot- 
land muttered at bed-time. A less experienced wizard might have 
answered that it was the Pater Noster, which would have licensed the 
devil to precipitate him from his back. But Michael sternly replied, 
' What is that to thee? Mount, Diabohis, and fly ! ' When he arrived 
at Paris, he tied his horse to the gate of the palace, entered, and boldly 
delivered his message. An ambassador, with so little of the pomp and 
circumstance of diplomacy, was not received with much respect, and 
the king was about to return a contemptuous refusal to his demand, 
when Michael besought him to sus]>end his resolution till he had seen 
his horse stamp three times. The first stamp shook every steeple in 
Paris, and caused all the bells to ring ; the second threw down three of 
the towers of the palace ; and the infernal steed had lifted his hoof to 
give the third stamp, when the king rather chose to dismiss Michael, 
with the most ample concessions, than to stand to the probable con- 
sequences. Another time, it is said that when residing at the Tower- of 
Oakwood, upon the Ettrick, about three miles above Selkirk, he heard 
of the fame of a sorceress, called the Witch of P^alsehope, who lived on 
the opposite side of the river. Michael went one morning to put her 



CANTO IT. 177 

ski]] to tlie test, but was disappointed by lier denying positively any 
Icnovvledge of tlie necromantic art. In liis discourse witli lier, lie laid 
his wand inadvertently on the table, which the hag observing sud- 
denly snatched up, and struck him with it. Feeling the force of the 
charm, he rushed out of the house ; but, as it had conferred on him the 
external appearance of a hare, his servant, who waited without, hallooed 
upon the discomfited wizard his own greyhounds, and pursued him so 
close, that, in order to obtain a moment's breathing to reverse the charm, 
Michael, after a very fatiguing course, was fain to take refuge in his own 
iarohole [Aiiglice, common sewer). In order to revenge himself of the 
witch of Falsehope, Michael, one morning in the ensuing harvest, went to 
the hill above the house with his dogs, and sent down his servant to ask 
a bit of bread from the goodwife for his greyhounds, with instructions 
what to do if lie met with a denial. Accordingly, when the witch had 
refused the boon with contumely, the servant, as his master had di- 
rected, laid above the door a paper which he had given him, containing, 
amongst many cabalistical words, the well-known rhyme, — 

* Maister Michael Scott's man 
Sought meat, and gat nana.' 

" Immediately the good old woman, instead of pursuing her domestic 
occupation, which was baking bread for the reapers, began to dance 
round the fire, repeating the rhyme, and continued this exercise till 
her husband sent the reapers to the house, one after another, to see 
what had delayed their provision ; but the charm caught each as they 
entered, and, losing all idea of returning, they joined in the dance and 
chorus. At length the old man himself went to the house ; but as his 
wife's frolic with Mr. Michael, whom he had seen on the hill, made him 
a little cautious, he contented himself with looking in at the window, 
and saw the reapers at their involuntary exercise, dragging his wife, 
now completely exhausted, sometimes round, and sometimes through, 
the fire, which was, as usual, in the midst of the house. Instead of 
entering, he saddled a horse, and rode up the hill, to humble himself 
before Michael, and beg a cessation of the spell ; which the good-natured 
warlock imtnediately granted, directing him to enter the' house back- 
wards, and, with his left hand, take the spell from above the door ; 
which accordingly ended the supernatural dance. — This tale was told 
less particularly in former editions, and I have been censured for in- 
accuracy in doing so. — A similar charm occurs in Hnon de Bourdcaux, 
and in the ingenious Oriental tale called the Caliph Vathck. 

" Notwithstanding his victory over the witch of Falsehope, Michael 
Scott, like his predecessor. Merlin, fell at last a victim to female art. 
His wife, or concubine, elicited from him the secret, that his art could 
ward off any danger except the poisonous qualities of broth made of 
the flesh of a breine sow. Such a mess she accordingly administered to 
the wizard, who died in consequence of eating it; surviving, however, 
long enough to jnit to death his treacherous confidante" (Scott). 

145. Eildon Ilills. The Trcniontiiit/i of the Romans, to the south of 
Melrose. The summit of the highest is 1385 feet above the level of 
the sea. 

12 



lyS NOTES. 

" Michael Scott was, once upon a time, much embarrassed by a spirit, 
for whom he was under the necessity of finding constant cmi)loyment. 
He commanded hini to build a cauld, or dam- head, across tlie Tweed at 
Kelso; it was accom]:)lished in one night, and slill does honor to the 
infernal architect. Michael next ordered that Eildon hill, which was 
then a uniform cone, should l)e divided into three. Another night was 
sufficient to part its summit into the three ])icturesque peaks which 
it now bears. At length the enchanter conquered this indefatigable 
demon, by employing him in the hopeless and endless task of making 
ropes out of sea-sand " (Scott). 

178. Good at need. See on i. 231 above. 

186. T/iat lamp, etc. Scott has the following note here : " Baptista 
Porta, and other authors who treat of natural magic, talk much of eter- 
nal lamps, i)retcnded to have been found burning in ancient sepulchres. 
Fortunius Licetus investigates the subject in a treatise, Dc Lticernis 
Aniiqiionivi Kecouditis, published at Venice, 1621. One of these per- 
petual lamps is said to have been discovered in the tomb of Tulliola, 
the daughter of Cicero. The wick was supposed to be composed of 
asbestos. Kircher enumerates three different recipes for constructing 
such lamps ; and wisely concludes, that the thing is nevertheless im- 
possible [Miindits Siibterraneiis, p. 72). Delrio imputes the fabrication 
of such lights to magical skill [IDisqiiisitiones JlLii^ictv, p. 58). In a 
very rare romance, which ' treatcth of the lyfe of Virgilius, and of his 
deth, and many marvayles that he dyd in his lyfe-time, by wyche-crafte 
and nygramancye, throughe the helpe of the devyls of hell,' mention is 
made of a very extraordinary process, in which one of these mystical 
lamps was employed. It seems that Virgil, as he advanced in years, 
became desirous of renovating his youth by magical art. For this pur- 
pose he constructed a solitary tower, having only one narrow portal, in 
which he placed twenty-four copper figures, armed with iron flails, 
twelve on each side of the porch. These enchanted statues struck 
with their flails incessantly, ^and rendered all entrance imjiossible, un- 
less when Virgil touched the spring, which stopped their motion. To 
this tower he repaired privately, attended by one trusty servant, to whom 
he communicated the secret of the entrance, and hither they conveyed 
all the magician's treasure. 'Then sayde Virgilius, my dere beloved 
frende, and he that I above alle men truste and knowe mooste of my 
secret;' and then he led the man into a cellar, where he made ?l fayer 
lamp at all seasons biu-nynge. 'And then sayd Virgilius to the man, 
" Se you the barrel that standeth here?" and he sayd, yea : "Therein 
must thou put mc : fyrst ye must slee me, and hewe me smalle to pieces, 
and cut my hed in iiii pieces, and salte the heed under in the bottom, 
and then the pieces there after, and my herte in the myddel, and then 
set the barrel under the lampe, that nyghte and day the fat therein may 
droppe and leake ; and ye shall ix dayes long, ones in the day, fyll the 
lampe, and fayle nat. And when this is all done, then shall I be re- 
nued, and made yonge agen." ' At this extraordinary proposal, the 
confidant was sore abashed, and made some scruple of obeving his 
master's commands. At length, however, he complied, and Virgil was 
slain, pickled, and barrelled up, in all respects according to his own 



CANTO II. 179 

direction. The servant then left the tower, taking care to put the 
copper thrashers in motion at his departure. He continued daily to 
visit the tower with the same precaution. Meanwhile, the em]:)cror, 
with whom Virgil was a great favorite, missed him from the court, and 
demanded of his servant where he was. The domestic pretended igno- 
rance, till the emperor threatened him with death, when at length he 
conveyed him to the enchanted tower. The same threat extorted a 
discovery of the mode of stopping the statues from wielding their 
flails. 'And then the emperour entered into the castle with all his 
folke, and sought all aboute in every corner after Virgilius ; and at the 
laste they soughte so longe, that they came into the seller, where they 
sawe the lampe hang over the barrell, where Virgilius lay in deed. 
Then asked the emperour the man, who had made hym so herdy to put 
his mayster Virgilius so to dethe ; and the man answered no worde to 
the emperour. And then the emperour, with great anger, drewe out his 
sworde, and slewe he there Virgilius' man. And when all this was 
done, then sawe the emperour, and all his folke, a naked child iii tymes 
rennynge about the barrell, saynge these wordes, " Cursed be the tyme 
that ye ever came here." And with those words vanyshed the chylde 
awaye, and was never sene ageyn ; and thus abyd Virgilius in the bar- 
rell deed ' ( Virgilius, bl. let., printed at Antwerpe by John Doesborcke). 
This curious volume is in the valuable library of Mr. Douce, and is 
supposed to be a translation from the French, printed in Flanders for 
the English market. See Goujet, Biblioth. Franc, i.x. 225. Catalogue de 
la Bibliotheqiie IVationalc, torn. ii. p. 5. D^ Bure, No. 3S57." 

189. Traced upon. That is, by the moonlight. Cf. 169 above. 

191. An iron bar, etc. The first reading was " A bar from thence the 
warrior took." 

198. Passing. Surpassing; as often in earlier English. So often ad- 
verbially; as in Marmion, \. loi : "love-ditties passing rare," etc. See 
also iv. 62 below. 

214. A palmer'' s amice. A palmer was a pilgrim; though the names 
were sometimes discriminated. Blount, in his Glossography, s^ys: "A 
palmer and a pilgrim differed thus : a pilgrim had some dwelling-place, 
the palmer none; the pilgrim travelled to some certain place, the 
palmer to all, and not to any one in particular; the pilgrim might go 
at his own charge, the palmer must profess wilful poverty; the pilgrim 
might give over his profession, the palmer must be constant till he had 
the palm, that is, victory over his ghostly enemies and life by death." 

The amice was a flowing cloak worn by palmers; not to be con- 
founded with the amice worn about the neck by priests. P. gives the 
latter explanation here, but such an amice could not have ivrapped him 
round. 

215. Baldric. Belt; as in iii. 218 below. Cf. I\[armion, v. 221 : 

'* His trusty blade, Toledo vic;lit. 
Descended from a baldric bright." 

Spenser, F. Q. i. 7. 29: "Athwart his brcst a bauldrick brave he 
wore," etc. 

224, Often had William, etc. " The agitation of the monk at the 
sight of the man whom he had loved with brotherly affection — the 



i8o NOTES. 

horror of Deloraine, and his belief that the corpse frowned as he with- 
drew the magic volume from its grasp, are circumstances not more 
happily conceived than exquisitely wrought " [Critical Reviejv). 

245. He thought, ^\.z. Scott says: "William of Deloraine might be 
strengthened in this belief by the well-known story of the Cid Ruy Diaz. 
When the body of that famous Christian champion was sitting in state 
by the high altar of the cathedral church of Toledo, where it remained 
for ten years, a certain malicious Jew attempted to pull him by the 
beard; but he had no sooner touched the formidable whiskers, than 
the corpse started up, and half unsheathed his sword. 'I'he Israelite 
fled; and so permanent was the effect of his terror, that he became 
Christian (Ilcywood's Hierarchie, p. 480, quoted from Sebastian Cobar- 
riivias Crozee).^' 

269. S/ed. Hurried through, performed in haste. 

287. 7'he Carter's side. " A mountain on the border of England, 
above Jedburgh " (Scott). It is one of the Cheviot Hills. 

288. And soon, Qtc. Miss Seward remarks: " How lovely and exhil- 
arating IS the fresh cool morning landscape which relieyes the mind 
after the horrors of the spell-guarded tomb!" and just below : "How 
true, sweet, and original, is this description of Margaret — the trembling 
haste with which she attires herself, descends, and speeds to the bower ! " 

299. Kirtle. Gown ; as in vi. 56 below. Cf. jMannion, v. 100: 

" Brown Maudlin of tliat doublet pied 
Could make a kirtle rare." 

For hast Hie, see on i. 2 above. 

341. And half consenting, etc. Cf. the old ballad (we quote from 
memory) : 

" As*maids that know themselves beloved, 
And yieldingly resist." 

343. Yet, might, etc. That is, if\t might, etc. 

2,^2)- The Baroji's dwarf. On the introduction of this character, see 
p. 142 above. Scott says here : "The idea of Lord Cranstoun's Goblin 
Page is taken from a being called Gilpin Horner, who appeared, and 
made some stay, at a farmhouse among the Border-mountains. A gen- 
tleman of that country has noted down the following particulars con- 
cerning his appearance : — 

'The only certain, at least most probable account, that ever I heard 
of Gilpin Horner, was from an old man, of the name of Anderson, who 
was born, and lived all his life, at Todshaw-hill, in Eskedale-muir, the 
place where Gilpin appeared and staid for some time. He said there 
were two men, late in the evening, when it was growing dark, em])loyed 
in fastening the horses upon the uttermost j:>art of their ground (that 
is, tying their forefeet together, to hinder them from travelling far in 
the night), when they heard a voice, at some distance, crying, " Tint! 
tint! tijit!^''^ One of the men, named Moffat, called out, "What deil 
has tint you ? Come here." Immediately a creature, of something 
like a human form, appeared. It was surprisingly little, distorted in 

1 Tmt signifies tost. f 



CANTO IL l8l 

features, and misshapen in limbs. As soon as the two men conld see it 
plainly, they ran home in a great fright, imagining they had met with 
some goblin. By the way Moffat fell, and it ran over him, and was 
home at the house as soon as either of them, and staid there a long 
time; but I cannot say how long. It was real liesh and blood, and ate 
and drank, was fond of cream, and, when it could get at it, would de- 
stroy a great deal. It seemed a mischievous creature; and any of the 
children whom it could master, it would beat and scratch without mercy. 
It was once abusing a child belonging to the same Moffat, who had 
been so frightened by its first appearance ; and he, in a passion, struck 
it so violent a blow upon the side of the head, that it tumbled upon the 
ground; but it was not stunned ; for it set up its head directly, and ex- 
claimed, ''Ah hah, Will o' Moffat, you strike sair!" (viz. soj-e.) After 
it had staid there long, one evening, when the women were milking the 
cows in the loan, it was playing among the children near bv them, when 
suddenly they heard a loud shrill voice cry, three times, '' Gilpin Hor- 
ner!'" It started, and said, " Tkat is me, I 7niist atvay" and instantly 
disappeared, and was never heard of more. Old Anderson did not re- 
member it, but said, he had often heard his father, and other old men 
in the place, who were there at the time, speak about it ; and in my 
younger years I have often heard it mentioned, and never met with any 
who had the remotest doubt as to the truth of the story ; although, I 
must own, I cannot help thinking there must be some misrepresenta- 
tion in it.' To this account, I have to add the following particulars 
from the most respectable authority. Besides constantly repeating the 
word tint! tint! Gilpin Horner was often heard to call upon Peter 
Bertram, or Be-te-ram, as he pronounced the word; and when the shrill 
voice called Gilpin Horner, he immediately acknowledged it was the 
summons of the said Peter Bertram: who seems therefore to have been 
the devil who had tint, or lost, the little imp. As much has been ob- 
jected to Gilpin Horner on account of his being supposed rather a 
device of the author than a popular superstition^ I can only sav, that 
no legend which I ever heard seemed to be more universally credited, 
and that many persons of very good rank and considerable information 
are well known to repose absolute faith in the tradition." 

360. Lost! lost! lost! The question has often been asked, "What 
or who was lost?" The answer, as M. remarks, "is that it was the 
goblin himself that was lost, or strayed from his supernatural master, 
the wizard Michael Scott." 

366. Some 2ohit. Somewhat. No w/iit is more common. Cf. iii. 31 
below. 

367. I^acie. An old form of the past tense of ride, used here for the 
rhyme. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. v. 2. 13: "And eke the courser whereupon 
he rad " (rhyming with " had " and " bestrad "). 

372. T/ie elfish d^varf with the Baron staid. "The idea of the imp 
domesticating himself with the first person he met, and subjecting him- 
self to that one's authority, is perfectly consonant to old opinions. Ben 
Jonson, in his play of The Devil is an Ass, has founded the leading 
incident of that comedy upon this article of the popular creed. A fiend, 
styled Tuo-, is ambitious of figuring in the world, and petitions his su- 



1^3 2 NOTES. 

perior for permission to exhibit himself upon earth. The devil grants 
him a day-rule, but clogs it with this condition: 

' Satan. Only thus more, I bind you 
To serve the first man that you meet ; and him 
I '11 siiovv you now ; observe him, follow him ; 
But, once engaged, there you must stay and fix.' 

" It is observable, that in the same play, Piig alludes to the spareness 
of his diet. Mr. Scott's goblin, though ' waspish, arch, and litherlie,' 
proves a faithful and honest retainer to the lord, into whose service he 
had introduced himself. This sort of inconsistency seems also to form 
a prominent part of the diabolic character. Thus, in the romances of 
the Round Table, we find Merlin, the son of a devil, e.xerting himself 
most zealously in the cause of virtue and of religion, the friend and 
counsellor of King Arthur, the chastiser of wrongs, and the scourge of 
the infidels" (Lockhart). Cf. v. 203 fol. below. 

377. Litherlie. Mischievous, vicious. See Imp. Diet, and cf. lither 
in Chaucer, Ciickow and AUghtingale, 14: 

" For he may do all that he woll devise, 
And lither folke to destroyen vice, 
And proud hertes he can make agrise." 

381. For his ministry. The early eds. omit y^r. 

382. Betiveen Home and Hermitage. That is, throughout the Border, 
Home Castle being to the northeast near Kelso and Hermitage Castle 
to the southwest in Liddesdale. The ruins of both still remain. For 
Hermitage, cf. p. 173 above (note on no), and see also v. 193 below. 

386. Mary^s Chapel of the Lowes. The Chapel of Saint Mary of the 
Lowes, on the eastern side of the Loch of the Lowes, which is con- 
nected with St. Mary's Loch, out of which the Yarrow flows. It is 
referred to in Marmion, ii. introd. 177. See our ed. p. 260. 

390. But the Ladye of Brajiksome, etc. " ' Upon 25th June, 1557, Dame 
Janet Beatoune, Lady Buccleuch, and a great number of the name of 
Scott, delaitit (accused) for coming to the kirk of St. Mary of the Lowes, 
to the number of two hundred persons bodin in feire of weire (arrayed 
in armour), and breaking open the door of the said kirk, in order to 
apprehend the Laird of Cranstoune for his destruction.' On the 20th 
July, a warrant from the Queen is presented, discharging the justice 
to proceed against the Lady Buccleuch while new calling [Abridgement 
of Books of Adjournal, in Advocates'' Library). — The following proceed- 
ings upon this case appear on the record of the Court of Justiciary : 
On the 25th of June, 1557, Robert Scott, in Bowhill parish, priest of the 
kirk of St. Mary's, accused of the convocation of the Queen's lieges, to 
the number of 200 persons, in warlike array, with jacks, helmets, and 
other weapons, and marching to the chapel of St. Mary of the Lowes 
for the slaughter of Sir Peter Cranstoun, out of ancient feud and malice 
prepense, and of breaking the doors of the said kirk, is repledged by 
the Archbishop of Glasgow. The bail given by Robert Scott of Allan- 
haugh, Adam Scott of Burnfute, Robert Scott in Howfurde, Walter 
Scott in Todshawhaugh, Walter Scott younger of Synton, Thomas Scott 
of Hayning, Robert Scott, William Scott, and James Scott, brothers of 



CANTO 11 T. 183 

the said Walter Scott, Walter Scott in the Woll, and Walter Scott, son 
of William Scott of Harden, and James Wemyss in Eckford, all accused 
of the same crime, is declared to be forfeited. On the same day, Walter 
Scott of Synton, and Walter Chisholme of Chisholme, and William 
Scott of Harden, became bound, jointly and severally, that Sir Peter 
Cranstoun, and his kindred and servants, should receive no injury from 
them in future. At the same time, Patrick Murray of Fallohill, Alex- 
ander Stuart, uncle to the Laird of Trakwhare, John Murray of New- 
hall, John Fairlye, residing in Selkirk, George Tait, younger of Pirn, 
John Pennycuke of Pennycuke, James Ramsay of Cokpen, the Laird of 
Fassyde, and the Laird of Henderstoune, were all severally fined for 
not attending as jurors; being probably either in alliance with the 
accused parties, or dreading their vengeance. Upon the 20th of July 
following, Scott of Synton, Chisholme of Chisholme, Scott of Harden, 
Scott of Howpaslie, Scott of Burnfute, with many others, are ordered 
to appear at ne.xt calling, under the pains of treason. But no farther 
procedure seems to have taken place. It is said, that, upon this rising, 
the kirk of St. Mary was burnt by the Scotts " (Scott). 

411. Cushat-dove. " Wood-pigeon " (Scott). 

421. The blood of Velez' scorched vine. That is, Malaga wine. Velez 
Malaga is a town in Spain, 14 miles to the northeast of Malaga, near 
the mouth of the river Velez. For the metaphor in blood, cf. Dent, xxxii. 
14. As P. remarks, the gift of the wine here reminds us of Goethe's 
ballad, Der Sanger. 



CANTO THIRD. 

24. Pricking. Spurring. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. i. r. i. : « A gentle Knight 
was pricking on the plaine," etc. See also iv. loi below. 

T,-^. The crane on the Baron's crest. " The crest of the Cranstouns, in 
allusion to their name, is a crane dormant, holding a stone in his foot, 
with an emphatic Border motto. Thou shalt want ere I want'' (Scott). 

34. In his rest. With the butt of the spear in the projection on the 
side of the armor called the rest ; that is, in position for use in attack 
or defence. To couch a spear (cf. 49 below) was another term for thus 
laying it in rest. See also v. 56 below. 

47. Nor prayed. See on ii. 64 above. 

^i. Shield and jack and acton. "Scott is somewhat indefinite in his 
description of the Border Knight's armor. The exact meaning of such 
a word zs Jack is very dititicult to ascertain, probably because the name 
was applied to considerably different pieces of armor. Ritson describes 
a jack as 'a jacket, or short coat, plated or institched with small pieces 
of iron, and usually worn by the peasantry of the Border in the journeys 
from place to place, as well as in the occasional skirmishes with the 
moss-troopers, who are most probably equipped with the same sort of 
harness.' But it w^as not every peasant that had so serviceable a de- 
fence. In the ballad Dick 0' the Co7u, Johnnie Armstrong borrows ' the 
laird's jack,' which is described as a 'steel jack,' and afterw\ards be- 
comes the prey of the lucky Dick. The jack so-called was generally not 



184 NOTES. 

plated or mailed : it was a thickly padded garment worn sometimes 
under plate or mail armor, sometimes without armor, its buckskin being 
considered protection for men-at-arms, though not for knights. The 
acton, akcton, or Jiaqncton, made of buckram, was almost always worn 
under armor" (M.). 

66. On a /lea/'. Cf. Shakespeare, I/cii. V.\. 2. 39: "And all her 
husbandry doth lie on heaps," etc. See also Exod. viii. 14. 

69. 1 J is foe lay stretched, etc. "Sir William of Delorainc and his 
steed, after riding for forty miles in comjiiete armor, make a very good 
fight. It was natural that the steed should 'stumble in the mortal 
shock.' The simplicity and verisimilitude of Scott's description of the 
combat may be compared with the powerful but more forced and fan- 
tastic style of Lord Tennyson's description of such encounters. For 
example, take the combat between Gareth and the Morning Star: 

' All at fiery speed the two 
Shock'd on the central bridge, and either spear 
Bent bnt not brake, and either kniglit at once, 
Hurl'd as a stone from out of a catapult, 
Beyond his iiorse's crnpi^er and tlie brick'.e, 
Fell, as if dead ; but quickly rose and drew,' etc. 

"Scott follows rather the simplicity of the old romancers. For exam- 
ple, Malory's Morte d'' Arthur, book ix, c. 34: 'Then Sir Fauncelot 
cried, The Knight with the black shield, make thee ready to just with 
me. When Sir Tristram heard him say so, he gat his spear in his hand, 
and either abashed down their heads, and came together as thunder, 
and Sir Tristram's spear brake in pieces, and Sir Launcelot by nial- 
fortune struck Sir Tristram on the side a deep wound nigh to the death. 
But yet Sir 'I'ristram avoided not his saddle, and so the spear brake.* 
Coming together like thunder is a very common simile in romance " 
(M.). Cf. 52 above. 

82. Short shrift liull be. Brief time for confession will be allowed. 

90. A book-bosonied priest. Scott quotes from the Account of Parish of 
Eioes in Macfarlane's MS'S. : "At Unthank, two miles N. E. from the 
church (of Kwes) tliere are the ruins of a chapel for divine service, in 
time of Popery. There is a tradition, that friars were wont to come 
from Melrose, or Jedburgh, to baptize and marry in this pari^>h ; and 
from being in use to carry the mass-book in their bosoms, they were 
called, by the inhabitants, Book-n-bosoines. There is a man yet alive, 
who knew old men who had been baptized by these Book-a-bosomes, 
and who says one of them, called Hair, used this parish for a very long 
time." 

103. Glamour. Scott says here: " Glamour, in the legends of Scottish 
superstition, means the magic power of imposing on the eyesight of 
the spectators, so that the a])pearance of an object shall be totally dif- 
ferent from the reality. The transformation of Michael Scott by the 
witch of Falsehope, already mentioned, was a genuine ojieration of 
glamour. To a similar charm the ballad of yohuny Ea' imputes the fas- 
cination of the lovely Countess who eloped with that gypsy leader : — 

* Sae soon as they saw her weel-far'd face, 
They cast the ^tat/io/tr o'er her.' 



CAN7V III. 1^5 

" It was formerly used even in war. In 1381, when the Duke of An- 
jou lay before a strong castle, upon the coast of Naples, a necromancer 
offered to ' make the ayre so thycke, that they within shall thynke that 
there is a great bridge \m the see (by which the castle was surrounded) 
for ten men to go a front ; and whan they within the castle se this 
bridge, they will be so afrayde, that they shall yelde them to your 
mercy. The Duke demanded, " Fayre Master, on this bridge that ye 
speke of, may our people assuredly go thereon to the castell to assayle 
it?" "Syr," quod the enchantour, " I dare not assure you that; for 
if any that passeth on the bridge make the signe of the crosse on hym, 
all shall go to noughte, and they that be on the bridge shall fall into the 
sec." Then the Duke began to' laugh ; and a certain of young knightes, 
that were there present, said, " Syr, for godsake, let the mayster essay his 
cunning: we shal leve making of any signe of the crosse on us for that 
tyme." ' The Earl of Savoy, shortly after, entered the tent, and recog- 
nized in the enchanter the same person who had put the castle into 
the power of Sir Charles de la Payx, who then held it, by persuading the 
garrison of the Queen of Naples, through magical deception, that the 
sea was coming over the walls. The sage avowed the feat, and added, 
that he was the man in the world most dreaded by Sir Charles de la 
Payx. '"By my fayth," quod the Earl of Savoy, "ye say well; and I 
will that Syr Charles de la Payx shall know that he hath gret wronge 
to fear you. But I shall assure hym of you ; for ye shall never do en- 
chantment to deceyve hym, nor yet none other. I wolde nat that in 
tyme to come we shulde be reproached that in so hygh an enterprise as 
we be in, wherein there be so many noble knyghtes and squyres assem- 
bled, that we shulde do any thyng be enchantment, nor that we shulde 
wyn our enemys be suche crafte." Than he called to him a servaunt, 
and said, "Go and get a hangman, and let him stryke of this mayster's 
heed without delay ; " and as sone as the Erie had commanded it, in- 
contynent it was done, for his heed was stryken of before the Erie's 
tent' (Froissart, vol. i. ch. 391, 392). 

"The art of glamour, or other fascination, was anciently a principal 
part of the skill of i\\c Jo7io;h-7n; or juggler, whose tricks formed much 
of the amusement of a Gothic castle. Some instances of this art may 
be found in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, vol. iv. p. 106. In a 
strange allegorical poem, called the J/oiiiat, written by a dependent 
of the house of Douglas, about 1452-3, the jay, in an assembly of 
birds, plays the part of the juggler. His feats of glamour are thus 
described : — 

' He gart them see, as it semyt in samyn lioure, 

Himtinj; at lievdis in holtis so luir; 
Somti sailand on tlie sea schippis of tome, 

Hernis battalland on bnrd brim as a bare ; 

Ho collide carye the coup of the kingis des, 
Syne leve in the stede, 
Bot a black bnnwede ; 
He could of a henis hede 

Make a man mes. 

' He gart the Emproure trow, and trewlye behald, 

That the corncrnik, the pundare at hand, 
Had poyndit all his pris hors in a poynd fald, 
Because thai etc of the corn in the kirkland. 



i86 NOTES. 

He could wirk windaris, quliat way that he wald, 

Mak a gray gus a gold garland, 
A lang spere of a bittile, for a beriie bald, 

Nobilis of nutschelles, and silver of sand. 
Thus joukit with juxters the janglane ja, 

Fair ladyes in ringis, 

Knyclitis in caralyngis, 

Bayth dansis and singis, 
It seniyt as sa. ' " 

M. refers to the story of Aurelius in Chaucer's FranJdiii's Tale as a 
familiar example of this form of enchantnieiit. Aurelius, in his dis- 
tress, bethinks him of a book of " magic natural," which he saw lying 
in the study of a fellow-student at Orleans : 

" As yonge clerkes, that ben likerous 
To redan artes that ben curious, 
Seken in every halke and every heme 
Particular sciences for to lerne " — 

and resolves to get this young clerk to help him in his love-making by 
producing illusions. " For," he says to himself — 

" For I am siker that tlier ben sciences 
By which men maken dyverse apparences, 
Which as the subtile tregetoures ]i1ayen. 
For ofte at festes have I Jierd seyen. 
That tregetoures, withinne an halle large, 
Had made in come water and a barge, 
And in the halle rowen up and doun. 
Som tyme hath semed come a grym leoun ; 
Some tyme a castel al of lym and ston, 
And when hem liked, voyded it anon." 

It was a spell of exactly the same kind that the goblin page learned 
from Michael Scott's mighty book. 

io8. A sheeling. "A she])herd's hut " (Scott). 

ii8. llioii smitest sore. Cf. p. iSi above; "Ah, hah, Will o' Moffat, 
you strike sair ! " 

124. N^ow, if y oil- ask, etc. "Dr. Henry More, in a letter prefixed to 
Glanville's Saducisimis TriiinipJiatiis, mentions a similar phenomenon: 

" ' I remember an old gentleman in the country, of my acquaintance, 
an excellent justice of peace, and a piece of a mathematician ; but what 
kind of a philosopher he was, you may understand from a rhyme of his 
own making, which he commended to me at my taking horse in his 
yard, which rhyme is this : — 

" Ens is nothing till sense finds out : 
Sense ends in nothing, so naught goes about." 

Which rhyme of his was so rapturous to himself, that, on the reciting 
of the second verse, the old man turned himself about upon his toe as 
nimbly as one may observe a dry leaf whisked round the corner of an 
orchard-walk by some little whirlwind. With this philosopher I have 
had many discourses concerning the immortality of the soul and its dts- 
tinction; when I have run him quite down by reason, he would but 
laugh at me, and say, this is logic, H. (calling me by my Christian 
name) ; to which I replyed, this is reason, father L. (for so I used and 



CANTO in. I $7 

some others to call him); but it seems you are for the new lights, and 
immediate inspiration, which I confess he\vas as little for as for the other ; 
but I said so only in the way of drollery to him in those times, but truth 
is, nothing but palpable experience would move him; and being a bold 
man, and fearing nothing, he told me he had used all the magical cere- 
monies of conjuration he could, to raise the devil or a spirit, and had a 
most earnest desire to meet with one, but never could do it. But this 
he told me, when he did not so much as think of it, while his servant 
was pulling off his boots in the hali, some invisible hand gave him such 
a clap upon the back, that it made all ring again ; " so," thought he 
now, "I am invited to the converse of my spirit," and therefore, so 
soon as his boots were off, and his shoes on, out he goes into the yard 
and next field, to find out the spirit that had given him this familiar 
clap on the back, but found none neither in the yard nor field next to it. 

" ' But though he did not feel this stroke, albeit he thought it after- 
wards (finding nothing came of it) a mere delusion; yet not long before 
his death, it had more force with him than all the philosophical argu- 
ments I could use to him, though I could wind him and nonplus him as 
I pleased; but yet all my arguments, how solid soever, made no impres- 
sion upon him ; wherefore, after several reasonings of this nature, 
whereby I would prove to him the soul's distinction from the body, 
and its immortality, when nothing of such subtile consideration did any 
more execution on his mind than some lightning is said to do, though 
it melts the sword, on the fuzzy consistency of the scabbard, — '* Well," 
said I, " father L., though none of these things move you, I have some- 
thing still behind, and what yourself has acknowledged to be true, that 
may do the business: Do you remember the clap on 3'our back when 
your servant was pulling off your boots in the hall? Assure yourself, 
says I, father L., that goblin will be the first to bid you welco'me into 
the other world." Upon that his countenance changed most sensibly, 
and he was more confounded with this rubbing up his memory, than 
with all the rational or philosophical argumentations that I could pro- 
duce '" (Scott). 

125. Mot. More commonly mote (to indicate the pronunciation), an 
archaic form, properly present [vinst being the original preterite of it), 
but also used by Spenser and others as past. Cf. F. Q. iv. 7. 42 : " Seek- 
ing adventures where he mote [that is, might] heare tell." 

140. Gnwiarye. " Magic " (Scott). As M. notes, the word is merely 
a form oi p-anunar (Fr. gravimaire), and points to a time when all 
book-learning was viewed with suspicion. 

146. Train. Entice. Cf. Shakespeare, Z. L. L. i. i. 71 : 

"These be the stops that hinder study quite, 
And train our intellects to v.iin delight." 

147. At a word. In a word; as often in Elizabethan English. Cf. 
Coriolanits, i. 3. 122: "No, at a word, madam," etc. 

149. Seetned. The ellipsis of // is a poetic archaisin. 
152. Lurcher. A dog that lies in wait [lurches, or lurks) for game. 
15c;. The running stream , Q.\c. Scott says: "It is a firm article of 
popular faith, that no enchantment can subsist in a living stream. Nay, 



1 88 NOTES. 

if you can interpose a brook betwixt you and witches, spectres, or even 
fiends, you are in perfect safety. Burns's inimitable Tavi d Shauier 
turns entirely upon such a circumstance. The belief seems to be of 
antiquity. Brompton informs us that certain Irish wizards could, by 
spells, convert earthen clods or stones into fat pigs, which they sold in 
the market, but which always reassumed their proper form when driven 
by the deceived purchaser across a running stream. But Ih-omjiton is 
severe on the Irish for a very good reason : ' Gens ista spurcissima 
non solvunt decimas' [Chronicon Johannis BroDipton opitd dcccni Scrip- 
tores, p. 1076)." 

157. Vilde. A corruption of vile common in Elizabethan and earlier 
writers. Vild, vil'd, and vilde occur about as often as vile in the early 
eds. of Shakespeare ; and vildly and vildely are almost the only forms 
of the adverb. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. i. 6. 3: "And made the vassal! of 
his pleasures vilde," etc. 

175. Grisly. Grim, terrible ; not to be confounded with _^;7S2/)'. Cf. 
Shakespeare, A', of L. 926 : " grisly care ; " Gray, Eton College, 82 : 
" A grisly troop ; " The Bard, 44 : "a grisly band," etc. 

188. Wildej-ed. See on introd. 69 above. 

189. Furioiislic. Of course there is no more reason for the old spell- 
ing here than in uianfiilly five lines below. Cf. v. 460, 463. 

202. Hoy ! An interjection = /lo ! We find the word in Scottish as 
a verb == incite, urge on. 

206. Ban-dog, See on i. 137 above. Here the bloodhound is called 
a ban-dog, but in 404 below they are spoken of as different kinds of 
dogs. 

210. Hint fro. From him. Fro is an old and simpler form oi from. 
It survives in to and fro. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. i. 3. 28: " Far be it from 
my thought, and fro my wil," etc. See also several examples on p. 163 
above. 

216. Barret-cap. Cloth cap. Cf. Lady of the Lake, vi. 234: 

" Tlie vacant purse shall be my share, 
Which in my barret-cap 1 '11 bear." 

218. Baldric. Belt. Cf. ii. 215 above. 

221. Kirtlc. Tunic. See ii. 299 above, where it is used, as is more 
common, of female dress. 

226. Fence. Defence ; as in iv. 65 below. Cf. the verb in ii. 28 above. 

227. He never counted, etc. Scott has this note here : " Imitated 
from Drayton's account of Robin Hood and his followers [Polyolbion, 
Song 26) : — 

* A hundred valiant men had this brave Robin Hood, 
Still ready at his call, tliat bowmen were ri,i;lit good : 
All clad in Lincoln green, with caps of red and blue, 
His fellow's winded horn not one of them but knew. 
When setting to their lips their bugles slirill, 
The warbling echoes waked from every dale and liill ; 
Their bauldrics set with studs athwart their slioulders cast, 
To which under tlieir arms their sheafs were buckled fast, 
A short sword at their belt, a buckler scarce a span, 
Who struck below the knee not counted then a man. 



CANTO /IT. 189 

All made of Spanish yew, their b(iws were wondrous strong, 

They not an arrow drew but was a clothyard long 

Of archery they had the very perfect craft, 

With broad arrow, or but, or prick, or roving shaft.' 

'* To wound an antagonist in the thigh, or leg, was reckoned con- 
trary to the law of arms. In a tilt betwixt Gawain Michael, an English 
squire, and Joachin Cathore, a Frenchman, ' they met at the speare 
poyntes rudely: the French squyer justed right pleasantly; the Eng- 
lishman ran too lowe, for he strak the Frenchman depe into the thigh. 
Wherewith the Erie of Buckingham was right sore displeased, and so 
were all the other lords, and sayde how it was shamefully done ' (Frois- 
sart, vol. i. chap. 366). Upon a similar occasion, * the two knyghts came 
a fote eche against other rudely, with their speares low couched, to 
stryke eche other within the foure quarters. Johan of Castell-Morant 
strake the English squyer on the brest in such wyse, that Syr Wyj- 
lyam Fermetone stombled and bowed, for his fote a lyttel fayled him. 
He helde his speare lowe with both his handes, and coude nat amende 
it, and strake Syr Johan of the Castell-Morant in the thighe, so that 
the speare went clene throughe, that the heed was sene a handfull on 
the other syde. And Syr Johan with the stroke reled, but he fell nat. 
Than the Englyshe knyghtes and squyers were ryghte sore displeased, 
and sayde how it was a foule stroke. Syr Wyllyam Fermetone excused 
himselfe, and sayde how he was sorie of that adventure, and liowe that 
yf he had knowen that it shulde have bene so, he wolde never have 
begon it ; savenge how he could nat amende it, by cause of glaunsing 
of his fote by constraynt of the great stroke that Syr Johan of the 
Castell-Morant had given him ' (Froissart, vol. i. chap. 2)7 Z)-'^ 

239. S/ioit.1. The early eds. have "Shews." 

244. Walter of Harden. See on iv. 120 below, and cf. iv. 457. 

250. Gra?Hercy. A corruption of the Fr. grand uierci, great thanks. 

270. JMaudlin. A corruption of Magdalen. Cf. the Fr. Madticine. 
Tire^^ head-dress. 

272. Bandelier. " Belt for carrying ammunition " (Scott); also spelt 
bandoleer. 

273. Hackbnfeer. Man armed with the hackbut [hagbut, arquebus^ or 
harqjicbnss, as it is variously spelt), a kind of heavy musket. 

291. And 7vitli a c/iarni, etc. Scott says : " See several charms for 
this purpose in Reginald Scot's Discovery of Witchcraft, p. 273. 

' Tom Potts was but a serving man. 
But yet he was a doctor good ; 
He bound liis hnndkercliief on the wound. 
And witli some kinds f)f words he stanched the blood.' 

{Pieces of Ancient Popular Poetry, Lond. 1791, p. 131)." 

296. And salved the splinter, etc. Scott has the following note here: 
"Sir Kenelm Digby, in a discourse upon the cure by svmpathv, i^ro- 
nounced at Montpellicr before an assembly of nobles and learned men, 
translated into English by R. White, gentleman, and published in 165S, 
gives us the following curious surgical case : 

" ' Mr. James Howel (well known in P'rance for his public works, and 
particularly for his Dendrologie, translated into French by Mens. 



I go NOTES. 

Baudouin) coming by chance, as two of his best friends were fighting in 
duel, he did his endeavour to part them; and, putting himselfe between 
them, seized, with his left hand, upon the hilt of the sword of one of the 
combatants, while, with his right hand, he laid hold of the blade of the 
other. They, being transported with fury one against the other, strug- 
gled to rid themselves of the hinderance their friend made, that they 
should not kill one another ; and one of them roughly drawing the 
blade of his sword, cuts to the very bone the nerves and muscles of Mr. 
Howel's hand ; and then the other disengaged his hilts, and gave a 
crosse blow on his adversarie's head, which glanced towards his friend, 
who heaving up his sore hand to save the blow, he was wounded on 
the back of his hand as he had been before within. It seems some 
strange constellation reigned then against him, that he should lose so 
much bloud by parting two such dear friends, who, had they been them- 
selves, would have hazarded both their lives to have preserved his ; 
but this involuntary effusion of bloud by them, prevented that which 
they sholde have drawn one from the other. For they, seeing Mr. 
Howel's face besmeared with bloud, by heaving up his wounded hand, 
they both ran to embrace him ; and, having searched his hurts, they 
bound up his hand with one of his garters, to close the veins which 
were cut, and bled abundantly. They brought him home, and sent for 
a surgeon. But this being heard at court, the King sent one of his own 
surgeons ; for his Majesty much affected the said Mr. Howel. 

" ' It was my chance to be lodged hard by him ; and four or five days 
after, as I was making myself ready, he came to my house, and prayed 
me to view his wounds; "for I understand," said he, "that you have 
extraordinary remedies on such occasions, and my surgeons apprehend 
some fear that it may grow to a gangrene, and so the hand must be cut 
off." In effect, his countenance discovered that he was in much pain, 
which he said was insupportable, in regard of the extreme inflammation, 
I told him I would willingly serve him; but if haply he knew the man- 
ner how I would cure him, without touching or seeing him, it may be 
he would not expose himself to my manner of curing, because he would 
think it, peradventure, either ineffectual or superstitious. He replied, 
" The wonderful things which many have related unto me of your way of 
medicament, makes me nothing dopbt at all of its efficacy; and all that 
I have to say unto you is comprehended in the Spanish proverb, 
Hagase el milai^ro y hagalo Mahojua — Let the miracle be done, though 
Mahomet do it." 

'" I asked him then for any thing that had the blood upon it; so he 
presently sent for his garter, wherewith his hand was first bound ; and 
as I called for a bason of water, as if I would wash my hands, I took a 
handful of pow'der of vitriol, which I had in my study, and presently 
dissolved it. As soon as the bloudy garter was brought me, I put it 
within the bason, observing, in the interim, what Mr. Howel did, who 
stood talking with a gentleman in a corner of my chamber, not regard- 
ing at all what I was doing; but he started suddenly, as if he had found 
some strange alteration in himself. I asked him what he ailed .'' " I 
know not what ailes me ; but I finde that I feel no more pain. Me- 
thinks that a pleasing kinde of freshnesse, as it w^ere a wet cold napkin. 



CANTO III. ■ 191 

did spread over my hand, which hath taken away the inflammation that 
tormented me before." I replied, *' Since then that you feel already so 
good effect of my medicament, I advise you to cast away all your plays- 
ters; only keep the wound clean, and in a moderate temper betwixt 
heat and cold." This was presently reported to the Duke of Buck- 
ingham, and a little after to the king, who were both very curious to 
know the circumstance of the businesse, which was, that after dinner I 
took the garter out of the water, and put it to dry before a great fire. 
It was scarce dry, but Mr. Howel's servant came running, that his 
master felt as much burning as ever he had done, if not more ; for the 
heat was such as if his hand were 'twixt coles of fire. I answered, al- 
though that had happened at present, yet he should find ease in a short 
time; for I knew the reason of this new accident, and would provide 
accordingly ; for his master should be free from that inflammation, it 
may be before he could possibly return to him; but in case he found 
no ease, I wished him to come presently back again ; if not, he might 
forbear coming. Thereupon he went ; and at the instant I did put 
again the garter into the water, thereupon he found his master without 
anv pain at all. To be brief, there was no sense of pain afterward; but 
within five or six daves the wounds were cicatrized, and entirely healed.' 
" The king (James VI.) obtained from Sir Kenelm the discovery of 
his secret, which he pretended had been taught him by a Carmelite 
friar, who had learned it in Armenia, or Persia. Let not the age of 
animal magnetism and metallic tractors smile at the sympathetic pow- 
der of Sir Kenelm Digby. Reginald Scot mentions the same mode of 
cure in these terms: 'And that which is more strange . . . they 
can remedie anie stranger with that verie sword wherewith they are 
wounded. Yea, and that which is beyond all admiration, if they stroke 
the sword upward with their fingers, the partie shall feele no pain; 
whereas, if they draw their fingers downwards, thereupon the partie 
wounded shall feele intolerable pain.' I presume that the success as- 
cribed to the sympathetic mode of treatment might arise from the pains 
bestowed in washing the wound, and excluding the air, thus bringing 
on a cure by the first intention. It is introduced by Dryden in the 
Enchanted Island, a (very unnecessary) alteration of the Tempest (v. 2) : 

^ Ariel. Anoint the sword which pierced him with this 
Weapon-salve, and wrap it close from air, 
Till I have time to visit him again.' 

" Again, in scene 4th, Miranda enters with Hippolito's sword wrapt 
up : — 

''Hip. O my wound pains me! 

Mir, I am come to ease you. [She unwraps the Sword. 

Hip. Alas, I feel the cold air come to me ; 
My wound shoots worse than ever. 

Mir. Does it still grieve you? \_She wipes and anoints the Sword. 

Hip. Now, methinks, there 's something laid just upon it. 

Mir. Do you find no ease ? 

Hip. Yes, yes ; upon the sudden all this pain 
Is leaving me. Sweet heaven, how I am eased ! ' " 

305. The evenifig fell, etc. M. compares Byron's Don Juan, iii. 102 
fol. : "Ave Maria! blessed be the hour," etc. P. refers to the opening 



192 • NOTES. 

lines of the same poet's Parisina : " It is the hour when from the 
boughs," etc. ; and on 320 below he cites the "Vesper adest," etc. of 
Catullus, and Canipbell's verses To tJic E^'cuiiig Star: "Gem of the 
crimson-colored even,'' etc. Other parallels might easily be found in 
the poets, with whom the theme is a favorite one. 

321. Penchryst Pen. A height southeast from Branksome. /V« and 
Ben (Celtic for head) are common in the names of hills and mountains 
in Scotland and Wales. 

324. Shakes its loose tresses, etc. Cf. I Henry J^I. i. i. 2 : 

" Comets importing change of times and states, 
Brandisii your crystal tresses in the sky ; " 

and Milton, P. L. ii. 710, where the comet 

" from his horrid hair 
Shakes pestilence and war." 

326. The beacon-blaze of li'ar. Scott has the following note on 345 
below: "Bale, beacon-fagot. The Border beacons, from their number 
and position, formed a sort of telegraphic connnunication with Edin- 
burgh. The Act of Parliament, 1455, c 48, directs, that one bale or 
fagot shall be warning of the approach of the English in any manner; 
two bales, that they are coming indeed ; four bales, blazing beside each 
other, that the enemy are in great force. 'The same taikenings to be 
watched and maid at Eggerhope (Eggerstand) Castell, fra they se the 
fire of Hume, that they fire right swa. And in like manner on Sowtra 
Edge, sail se the fire of Eggerhope Castell, and mak taikening in like 
manner: And then may all Louthaine be warned, and in special the 
Castell of Edinburgh; and their four fires to be made in like manner, 
that they in Fife, and fra Striveling east, and the east part of Louthaine, 
and to Dunbar, all may se them, and come to the defence of the realme.' 
These beacons (at least in latter times) were a 'long and strong tree 
set up, with a long iron pole across the head of it, and an iron brander 
fixed on a stalk in the middle of it, for holding a tar-barrei ' [Stevenson's 
History, vol. ii. p. 701)." 

336. Cresset. In a note on Marmion, ii. 350 ("A cresset in an iron 
chain"), Scott defines the word as "an antique chandelier,"' which it 
often means. Here it refers to the lamj^s or fire-pans hung on pivots, 
and carried at the end of long poles. This portable cresset was usually 
a hollow vessel filled with a coil of rope saturated with tar, resin, or 
other combustible substance. 

337. Confusedly. A trisyllable ; :x?,\\\ Lady of the Lahe,\. z^i: "Crags, 
knolls, and mounds, confusedly hurled; " and Id. ii. 161 : " Confusedly 
bound in memory's ties." 

340. Reeds beside a frozen brook. "'J"he cutting wintry wind that 
shakes the reeds is implied in "CdQ frozen " (P.). 

341. The seneschal. The high steward, or chief official of a castle 
or barony, the representative of his lord in all respects, empowered to 
punish offences, determine controversies, and direct and record -all 
proceedings in the Courts of the Manor. 

346. Priesthanghsiuire. Another beacon-hill and stronghold (cf. quo- 
tation in next note) to the south of Branksome. Many of these local 



CANTO III. ^^93 

names are not to be found in the gazetteers or guide-books, nor on the 
ordinary maps. 

349. Mount, etc. " Mount for Branksome was the gathering word of 
the Scotts " (Scott). M. quotes the ballad of yaviie Telfer in the Bo7-- 
der Minstrelsy, where there is a similar hurried gathering of the clan : 

" Warn Wat o' Harden, and his sons, 
Wi- them will Borthwick Water ride ; 
Warn Goidilands, and Allanhaugh, 

And Gilmans-cleuch, and Commonside. 

" Ride by the gates o' Priesthaughswire, 
And warn the Ciirrors o' the Lea ; 
As ye come doun the Hermitage Slack, 
Warn doughty Willie o* Gorrinberry. 

" The Scotts they rade, the Scotts they ran, 
Sae starkly and sae steadilie ! 
And aye the ower-word o' the thrang 
Was * Rise for Branksome readilie ! ' " 

350. Thoti, Todrig, etc. " The speed with which the Borderers col- 
lected great bodies of horse, may be judged of from the following ex- 
tract, when the subject of the rising was much less important than that 
supposed in the romance. It is taken from Carey's Memoirs : — 

" * Upon the death of the old Lord Scroop, the Queen gave the west 
wardenry to his son, that had married my sister. He having received 
that office, came to me with great earnestness, and desired me to be his 
deputy, offering me that I should live with him in his house ; that he 
would allow me half a dozen men, and as many horses, to be kept at 
his charge ; and his fee being 1000 merks yearly, he would part it with 
me, and I should have the half. This his noble offer I accepted of, 
and went with him to Carlisle ; where I was no sooner come, but I en- 
tered into my office. We had a stirring time of it ; and few days past 
over my head but I was on horseback, either to prevent mischief, or 
take malefactors, and to bring the Border in better quiet than it had 
been in times past. One memorable thing of God's mercy shewed unto 
me, was such as I have good cause still to remember it. 

' I had private intelligence given me, that there were two Scottishmen 
that had killed a churchman in Scotland, and were b}' one of the 
Graemes relieved. This Gramme dwelt within five miles of Carlisle. He 
had a pretty house, and close by it a strong tower, for his own defence 
in time of need. About two o'clock in the morning, I took horse in 
Carlisle, and not above twenty-five in my company, thinking to surprise 
the house on a sudden. Before I could surround the house, the two 
Scots were gotten in the strong tower, and I could see a boy riding 
from the house as fast as his horse could carry him; I little suspecting 
what it meant. But Thomas Carleton came to me presently, and told 
me, that if I did not presently prevent it, both myself and all my com- 
pany would be either slain or taken prisoners. It was strange to me 
to hear this language. He then said to me, " Do you see that boy that 
rideth away so fast? He will be in Scotland within this half hour ; and 
he is gone to let them know, that you are here, and to what end you 
are come, and the small number you have with you ; and that if they 



194 NOTES. 

will make haste, on a sudden they may surprise us, and do with us what 
they please." Hereupon we took advice what was best to be done. 
We sent notice presently to all parts to raise the country, and to come 
to us with all the speed they could ; and withall we sent to Carlisle to 
raise the townsmen ; for without foot we could do no good against the 
tower. There we staid some hours, expecting more company ; and 
within short time after the country came in on all sides, so that we 
were quickly between three and four hundred horse ; and, after some 
longer stay, the foot of Carlisle came to us, to the number of three or 
four hundred men ; whom we presently set to work, to get to the top of 
the tower, and to uncover the roof ; and then some twentv of them to 
fall down together, and by that means to win the tower. The Scots, 
seeing their present danger, offered to parley, and yielded themselves to 
my mercy. They had no sooner opened the iron gate, and yielded 
themselves my prisoners, but we might see 400 horse within a quarter 
of a mile coming to their rescue, and to surprise me and my small com- 
pany ; but of a sudden they stayed, and stood at gaze. Then had I 
more to do than ever ; for all our Borderers came crying, with full 
mouths, " Sir, give us leave to set upon them ; for these are they that 
have killed our fathers, our brothers, and uncles, and our cousins; and 
they are coming, thinking to surprise you, upon weak grass nags, such 
as they could get on a sudden ; and God hath put them into your 
hands, that we may take revenge of them for much blood that they have 
spilt of ours." I desired they would be patient a while, and bethought 
myself, if I should give them their will, there would be few or none of 
the Scots that would escape unkilled (there was so many deadly feuds 
among them) ; and therefore I resolved with myself to give them a fair 
answer, but not to give them their desire. So I told them, that if I 
were not there myself, they might then do what they pleased them- 
selves ; but being present, if I should give them leave, the blood that 
should be spilt that day would lie very hard upon my conscience. And 
therefore I desired them, for my sake, to forbear ; and, if the Scots did 
not presently make away with all the speed they could, upon my send- 
ing to them, they should then have their wills to do what they pleased. 
They were ill satisfied with my answer, but durst not disobey. I sent 
with speed to the Scots, and bade them ])ack away with all the speed 
they could ; for if they stayed the messenger's return, they should few 
of them return to their own home. They made no stay ; but they were 
returned homewards before the messenger had made an end of his mes- 
sage. Thus, by God's mercy, I escaped a great danger ; and, by my 
means, there were a great many men's lives saved that day'" (Scott). 
The Johnsiones, Elliots^ and Armsiro7igs were important Border families 
or clans. 

372. Ajid warn their vassals. Cf. the sending abroad of the Fiery 
Cross in Lady of the Lake, iii. 179 foi. 

373. The ready page, etc. " We absolutely see the fires kindling, 
one after another, in the following animated description " [Annual Re- 
view, 1804). 

374. A'eed-firc. " Beacon " (Scott). 
385. Tarn. " Mountain lake " (Scott). 



CANTO IV. 195 

386. Earn. " A Scottish eagle" (Scott). 

387. Cairu. "The cairns, or piles of loose stones, which crown the 
summit of most of our Scottish hills, and are found in other remark- 
able situations, seem usually, though not universally, to have been 
sepulchral monuments. Six flat stones are commonly found in the 
centre, forming a cavity of greater or smaller dimensions, in which an 
urn is often placed. The author is possessed of one, discovered be- 
neath an immense cairn at Roughlee, in Liddesdale. It is of the most 
barbarous construction ; the middle of the substance alone having been 
subjected to the fire, over which, when hardened, the artist had laid an 
inner and outer coat of unbaked clay, etched with some very rude orna- 
ments ; his skill apparently being inadequate to baking the vase, when 
completely finished. The contents were bones and ashes, and a quan- 
tity of beads made of coal. This seems to have been a barbarous 
imitation of the Roman fashion of sepulture" (Scott). 

3S9. Dunedin. See on i. 61 above. 

390. Soltra and Dumpender Lato. See Addenda, p. 237 below. 

392. Bowne. "Make ready" (Scott). Cf. Marmion, iv. 487: 

" Each ordering that his band 
Should bowne them witli the rising day. 
To Scotland's camp, to make their way," etc. 

Cf. also the adjective bonne, or bo%vn (= ready, prepared) ; as in Lady 
of the Lake, iv. 157 : " Will see them here for battle boune," etc. 

398. Massy. See on introd. 33 above. 

407. Smile. Note the rhyme with toil, and see on introd. 98 above. 

416. Black-mail. " Protection-money exacted by freebooters " (Scott). 
The word has become a familiar one since Scott's day. 

417. With small avail. With little gain or profit; referring to the 
following thetn, not to Liddesdale. 

418. A^o-cn. An old spelling of again. 

431. Withal. Here, as often, simply equivalent to zvith. Sometimes 
it is = with it, etc. Cf. Shakespeare, A. F. Z. i. i. 139 : " I came hither 
to acquaint you withal." See iibbott, Shakes. Gr. § 196. 

Miss Seward remarks : " Nothing can excel the simple concise pathos 
of the close of this Canto — nor the touching picture of the Bard 
when, with assumed business, he tries to conceal real sorrow. How 
well the i^oet understands the art of contrast — and how judiciously it 
is exerted in the exordium of the next Canto, where our mourning 
sympathy is exchanged for the thrill of pleasure ! " 



CANTO FOURTH. 

"The first two stanzas may serve as a reminder of the change that 
Scott introduced upon the reflective poetry of the eighteenth century. 
The Minstrel's strain of reflection is an echo of Rogers's ' Pleasures of 
Memory,' whose elegant musings on the past had some share in form- 



196 NOTES. 

ing Scott's historic sentiment. But the reflections of Rogers are ab- 
stract, detached from incHvichial human interest, common to humanity. 
Here, on tlie oilier hand, \vc have not merely reflections in general on 
the changes that time brings, hut personal emotion, the toucliing retro- 
spect of an intlividual man, with joys and griefs of his own to remem- 
ber, awakened as in real life by casual incidents. This exhibition of 
warm personal emotion, set in a moving stream of life, was one of the 
novelties of the Lay, and one of the main secrets of its effect " (M.). 

4. AIoHi:; tJiy wild and ivillcnvcd shore. An ex([uisite example of allit- 
eration, and a suigularly musical line. 

8. Rolled Hf>on the Tweed. The original reading was " rolled their 
way to Tweed." 

20. Great Dundee. "The viscount of Dundee, slain in the battle of 
Killiecrankie " (Scott); otherwise known as Oraham of Claverhouse. 
The date of the l^attle was July 29, 16S9. 

Jeffrey says of these opening stanzas: *'Somc of the most interesting 
passages of the poem are those in which the author droi)s the business 
of his story to moralize, and apply to his own situation the images and 
reflections it has suggested. After concluding one Canto with an ac- 
count of the warlike array which was ])repared for the reception of the 
]<>nglish invaders, he opens the succeeding one with the following beau- 
tiful verses. . . . There are several other detached i)assages of e(]ual 
beauty, which might l)c quoted in proof of the effect which is produced 
by this dramatic interference of the narrator." 

28. For pathless viarsJi^ etc. Scott says : " The morasses were the 
usual refuge of the Border herdsmen, on the approach of an l^nglish 
army [Minstrelsy of the Seottish Border, vol. i. p. 393). Caves, hewed 
in the most dangerous and inaccessible i)laces, also afforded an occa- 
sional retreat. Such caverns may be seen in the precipitous banks of 
the Teviot at Sunlaws, upon the Ale at Ancram, upon the Jed at llun- 
dalee, and in many other ])laces upon the Border. 'I'hc banks of the 
Eske, at Gorton and llawthornden, are hollowed into similar recesses. 
But even these dreary dens were not always secure places of conceal- 
ment. Mn the way as we came, not far from this place (I-ong Niddry), 
George Ferres, a gentleman of my \.o\(\. Protector's . . . hai)pcncd 
upon a cave in the groundc, the mouth whereof was so woriie with the 
fresh print c oi steps, that he seemed to be certayne thear wear some 
folke within; and gone doune to trie, he was redily reccyved with a 
hakebut or two. He left them not yet, till he had known wheyther thei 
wold be content to yield and come out; which they fondly refusing, he 
went to my lorde's grace, and upon utterance of the thynge, gat licence 
to deale with them as he coulde ; and so returned to them, with a skore 
or two of ])ioncrs. Three ventes had their cave, that we wear ware of, 
whereof he first stoi)t up on; anoother he fill'd full of strawe, and set it 
a fyer, whereat they within cast water apace; but it was so wel mayn- 
teyncd without, that the fyer prevayled, and thei within fayn to get them 
belyke into anoother parler. Then devysed we (for I hapt to be with 
liim) to sto]) the same u]i, whereby we shoukl e\ther smoother them, or 
fynd out their ventes, if thei hadde any moe : as this was done at another 
issue, about xii score of, we moughte see the fume of their smoke to 



CANTO IV. 197 

come out : the which continued with so great a force, and so long a 
while, that we could not but thinke they must needs get them out, 
or smoother within : and forasmuch as we found not that they dyd 
the tone, we thought it for certain thei wear sure of the toother' (Pat- 
ten's Account ofSomersei's Expedition into Scotland, apud Dalyell's 
Fragments)." 

31. PcePs. See on i. 265 above. 

37. Slunued Southern rami^e, etc. Scott says here : " From the follow- 
ing fragment of a letter from the Earl of Northumberland to King 
Henry VIII., preserved among the Cotton MSS. Calig. ]i. vii. 179, the 
reader may estimate the nature of the dreadful war which was occa- 
sionally waged upon the Borders, sharpened by mutual cruelties, and 
the ])ersonal hatred of the wardens, or leaders : 

*' Some Scottish Barons, says the Earl, had threatened to come within 
'three miles of my jjore house of Werkworth, where I lye, and gif me 
light to put on my clothes at mydnight ; and alsoo the said Marke Carr 
said there opynly, that, seyng they had a governor on the Marches of 
Scotland, as well as they had in Ingland, he shulde kepe your highness 
instructions, gyffyn unto your garyson, for making of any day-forrey ; 
for he and his friends wolde burne enough on the nyght, lettyng your 
counsaill here defync a notable acte at thcyre pleasures. Upon whiche, 
in your highncs name, I comaundet dewe watchc to be keptc on your 
Marchies, for comyng in of any Scotts. Neuertheles, \\\^o\\ Thursday 
at night last, came thyrty light horsemen into a litil village of myne, 
called Whitell, having not past sex houses, lying towards Ryddisdaill, 
upon Shilbotell More, and there wold have fyred the said howses, but 
ther was no fyre to get there, and they forgate to brynge any withe 
theyme ; and took a wyf being great with chylde, in the said towne, and 
said to hyr, Wher we can not gyve the lard lyght, yet we shall doo this 
in spyte of hym ; and gyve her iii mortall wounds upon the heid, and 
another in the right side, with a dagger : whereupon the said wyf is 
deede, and the childe in her bely is loste. Beseeching your most gra- 
cious highness to reduce unto your gracious memory this wylful and 
shamefull murder, done within this your highnes realme, notwithstand- 
ing all the inhabitants thereabout rose unto the said fray, and gave 
warnyngc by becons into the countrey afore theyme, and yet the Scotts- 
men dyde escape. And upjjon certcyne knowledge to my brother Clyf- 
forthe and mc, had by credible persons of Scotland, this abomynable 
act not only to be done by dyverse of the Mershe, but also the afore 
named persons of Tyvidaill, and consented to, as by appearance, by the 
Erie of Murcy, upon Friday at night last, let slyp C of the best horse- 
men of Glendaill, with a parte of your highnes subjects of Bcrwike, 
together with George Dowglas, whoo came into Ingland agayne, in the 
dawning of the day ; but afore theyre retorne, they dyd mar the Earl of 
Murreis ])rovisions at Coldingham; for they did not only burne the 
said town of Coldingham, with all the corne thereunto belonging, which 
is esteemed wurthe cii marke sterling; but alsoo burned twa townes 
nye adjoining thereunto, called Branerdcrgest and the Black Hill, and 
tokc xxiii ])ersons, Ix hor.se, with cc hed of cataill, which, nowc as I am 
informed, hathe not only been a staye of the said Erie of Murreis not 



198 



NOTES. 



coming to the Bordure as yet, but alsoo, that none inlande man will 
adventure theyr self uppon the Marches. And as for the tax that shulde 
have been grauntyd for finding of the said iii hundred men, is utterly de- 
nyed. Upon which the King of Scotland departed from Edynburgh to 
Stirling, and as yet there doth remayn. And also I, by the advice of my 
brother Clyfforth, have devysed, that within this iii nyghts, Godde will- 
ing, Kelsey, in like case, shall be brent, with all the corn in the said 
town ; and then they shall have noo place to lye any garyson in nygh 
unto the Borders. And as I shall atteigne further knowledge, I shall 
not faill to satisfye your highnes, according to my most bounden dutie. 
And for this burnyng of Kelsey is devysed to be done secretly, by Tyn- 
daill and Ryddisdale. And thus the holy Trynite and . . . your most 
royal estate, with long lyf, and as much increase of honour as your 
most noble heart can desire. At WcrkiuortJi. the xxii^/ day of October'' 

40. Watt Ttuhnn. Scott remarks: "This person was, in my younger 
days, the theme of many a fireside tale. He was a retainer of the Buc- 
cleuch family, and held for his Border service a small tower on the 
frontiers of Liddesdale. Watt was, by profession, a sntor, but, by incli- 
nation and practice, an archer and warrior. Upon one occasion, the 
captain of Bewcastle, military governor of that wild district of Cumber- 
land, is said to have made an incursion into Scotland, in which he was 
defeated and forced to fly. Watt Tinlinn pursued him closely through 
a dangerous morass; the captain, however, gained the firm ground; 
and seeing Tinlinn dismounted, and floundering in the bog, used these 
words of insult: ' Sutor Watt, ye cannot sew your boots; the heels 
risp [creak], and the seams rive.' 'If I cannot sew,' retorted Tinlinn, 
discharging a shaft, which nailed the captain's thigh to his saddle, * if I 
cannot sew, I c^n yerk.' " ^ With Tinlinn's arrival at Branksome, com- 
pare Jamie Telfer's [Border Mi7istrelsy) : — 

" And when they cam to Branksome Ha' 

Tliey shouted a' baitli loud and hie, 
Till \\\> and si:)ak him auld Buccleuch, 

Said — ' Whne 's this brings the fraye to me?' 
' It 's I, Jamie Telfer o' the Fair Dodliead, 

And a han-ied man I think I be ! 
There "s naught left in the Fair Dodhead 

But a greeting wife and bairnies three.' " 

44. Saint Barnabright. St. Barnabas' day, the nth of June, was reck- 
oned in Old Style the longest day of the year; and hence it was called 
" Barnaby bright " or " long Barnaby." Cf. Spenser, Epithal. 266 : 

"This day the sunne is in his chiefest hight, 
With Barnaby the bright ; " 

Eachard, Cont. Clergy., 32 (1670) : " Barnaby-bright would be much too 
short for him to tell you all that he could say," etc. 

47. Yew. For the yexu as a material for bows, cf. Spenser, F. Q. i. 
I. 9: "The Eugh, obedient to the benders will." 

51. /^ Warden-Raid, "An inroad commanded by the Warden in per- 
son" (Scott). 

"^ '^Verk, to twitch, as shoemakers do in securing the stitches of their work " (Scott). 



CANTO IV. 199 

52. While thus he spake, etc. The Critical Review ( 1805) remarks : 
" The dawn displays the smoke of ravaged fields, and shepherds, with 
their flocks, flying before the storm. Tidings brought by a tenant of 
the family, not used to seek a shelter on light occasions of alarm, dis- 
close the strength and object of the invaders. This man is a character 
of a lower and of a rougher cast than Deloraine. The portrait of the 
rude retainer is sketched with the same masterly hand. Here, again, 
Mr. Scott has trod in the footsteps of the old romancers, who confine 
not themselves to the display of a few personages who stalk over the 
stage on stately stilts, but usually reflect all the varieties of character 
that marked the era to which they belong. The interesting example of 
manners thus preserved to us, is not the only advantage which results 
from this peculiar structure of their plan. It is this, amongst other 
circumstances, which enables them to carry us along with them, under 
I know not what species of fascination, and to make us, as it were, 
credulous spectators of their most extravagant scenes. In this they 
seem to resemble the painter, who, in the delineation of a battle, while 
he places the adverse heroes of the day combating in the front, takes 
care to fill his background with subordinate figures, whose appearance 
adds at once both spirit and an air of probability to the scene." 

55. Hag. "The broken ground in a bog " (Scott). 

56. Billhope stag. " There is an old rhyme, which thus celebrates the 
places in Liddesdale remarkable for game : 

' Billhope braes for bucks and raes, 
And Carit haugh for swine, 
And Tarras for the good bull trout, 
If he be ta'en in time.' 

''The bucks and roes, as well as the old swine, are now extinct; but 
the good bull-trout is still famous " (Scott). 

60. Of silver brooch and Iwacelct proud. " As the Borderers were in- 
different about the furniture of their habitations, so much exposed to 
be burned and plundered, they were proportionally anxious to display 
splendor in decorating and ornamenting their females. — See Lesly, de 
Moribiis Limitaneontin" (Scott). 

62. Passing. See on ii. 198 above. 

64. Morion. A steel cap, or helmet without a beaver. See our ed. 
oi Marviion, p. 247, note on 130. 

65. Jack. See on iii. 61 above ; and ior fence, on iii. 226. 

74. Belted Will Hoiuard. " Lord William Howard, third son of 
Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, succeeded to Naworth Castle, and a large 
domain annexed to it, in right of his wife Elizabeth, sister of George 
Lord Dacre, who diecl without heirs-male, in the nth of Queen Eliza- 
beth. By a poetical anachronism, he is introduced into the romance a 
few years earlier than he actually flourished. He was warden of the 
Western Marches; and, from the rigor with which he repressed the 
Border excesses, the name of Belted Will Howard is still famous in our 
traditions. In the castle of Naworth, his apartments, containing a bed- 
room, oratory, and library, are still shown. They impress us with an 
unpleasing idea of the life of a Lord Warden of the Marches. Three 



200 NOY'ES. 

or four strong doors, separating these rooms from the rest of the castle, 
indicate the apprehensions of treachery from his garrison ; and the secret 
winding passages, through which he could privately descend into the 
guard-room, or even into the dungeons, imply the necessity of no small 
degree of secret superintendence on the part of the governor. As the 
ancient books and furniture have remained undisturbed, the venerable 
appearance of these apartments, and the armor scattered around the 
chamber, almost lead us to expect the arrival of the warden in person. 
Naworth Castle is situated near Brampton in Cumberland. Lord Wil- 
liam Howard is ancestor of the Earls of Carlisle" (Scott). 
- 75. Lord Dacre. " The well-known name of Dacre is derived from 
the exploits of one of their ancestors at the siege of Acre, or Ptolemais, 
under Richard Coeur-de-Lion. There were two powerful branches 
of that name. The first family, called Lord Dacres of the South, 
held the castle of the same name, and are ancestors to the present 
Lord Dacre. The other family, descended from the same stock, were 
called Lord Dacres of the North, and were barons of Gilsland and 
Graystock. A chieftain of the latter branch was warden of the West 
Marches during the reign of Edward VL He was a man of a hot and 
obstinate character, as appears from some particulars of Lord Surrey's 
letter to Henry VHL, giving an account of his behavior at the siege 
and storm of Jedburgh. It is printed in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish 
Border, Appendix to the Litroduction " (Scott). 

76. The German hacJdmt-men. See on iii. 273 above. Scott says 
here : " In the wars with Scotland, Henry VIII. and his successors 
employed numerous bands of mercenary troops. At the battle of 
Pinky, there were in the English army six hundred hackbutters on foor, 
and two hundred on horseback, composed chiefly of foreigners. On 
the 27th of September, 1549, the Duke of Somerset, Lord Protector, 
writes to the Lord Dacre, warden of the West Marches: * The Almains, 
in number two thousand, very valiant soldiers, shall be sent to you 
shortly from Newcastle, together with Sir Thomas Holcroft, and with 
the force of your wardenry (which we would were advanced to the 
most strength of horsemen that might be), shall make the attempt to 
Loughmaben, being of no such strength but that it may be skailed with 
ladders, whereof, beforehand, we would you caused secretly some num- 
ber to be provided ; or else undermined with the pyke-axe, and so 
taken: either to be kept for the King's Majesty, or otherwise to be de- 
faced, and taken from the profits of the enemy. And in like manner 
the house of Carlaverock to be used.' Repeated mention occurs of 
the Almains, in the subsequent correspondence ; and the enterprise 
seems finally to have been abandoned, from the difficulty of providing 
these strangers with the necessary 'victuals and carriages in so poor a 
country as Dumfries-shire ' {His'tory of Cumberland, vol. i. introd. p. 
Ixi). From the battle-pieces of the ancient Flemish painters, we learn, 
that the Low Country and German soldiers marched to an assault with 
their right knees bared. And we may also observe, in such pictures^ 
the extravagance to which they carried the fashion of ornamenting 
their dress with knots of ribbon. This custom of the Germans is al- 
luded to in the Mirroiir for Magistrates, p. 121 : 



CANTO IF. 20I 

' Their pleited garments therewith wo'i accord, 
All jagde and froiinst, with divers colours deckt.' " 

87. Sc7'ogg. " A shady wood" (P.). 

91. Fastern's night. The eve of the great /v;j-/ of Lent. "The day 
was kept as a carnival ; hence the Borderer is aptly represented as 
doing his last bit of stealing before the Fast came on " (P.). 

100-103. There was saddling, etc. These four lines were not in the 
1st ed. 

loi. Pricking. See on iii. 24 above. 

104. Saint Ma7'ys silver wave. St. Mary's Lake. Cf. ii. 399 above. 

105. Gainesclench'' s dusky height. A hill across the Ettrick from 
Thirlestane Castle. An old tower still marks the place. 

106. Thirlestane. " Sir John vScott of Thirlestane flourished in the 
reign of James V., and possessed the estates of Thirlestane, Games- 
cleuch, etc., lying upon the river of Ettrick, and extending to St. Mary's 
Loch, at the head of Yarrow. It appears, that when James had assem- 
bled his nobility, and their feudal followers, at Fala, with the purpose 
of invading England, and was, as is well known, disappointed by the 
obstinate refusal of his peers, this baron alone declared himself ready 
to follow the King wherever he should lead. In memory of his fidelity, 
James granted to his family a charter of arms, entitling them to bear a 
border of fleurs-de-luce, similar to the tressure in the royal arms, with 
a bundle of spears for the crest ; motto, Ready, aye ready. The char- 
ter itself is printed by Nisbet ; but his work being scarce, I insert 
the following accurate transcript from the original, in the possession 
of the Right Honorable Lord Napier, the representative of John of 
Thirlestane : 

'James Rex. 
' We, James, be the grace of God, King of Scottis, considerand the 
ffaith and guid servis of of of ^ right traist friend John Scott of Thirle- 
stane, quha cummand to our hoste at Soutra-edge, with three score and 
ten launcieres on horseback of his friends and followers, and beand 
willing to gang with ws into England, when all our nobles and others 
refuised, he was ready to stake all at our bidding ; ffor the quhilk cause, 
it is our will, and we doe straitlie command and charg our lion herauld 
and his deputies for the time beand, to give and to graunt to the said 
John Scott, ane Border of ffleure de lises about his coatte of armes, 
sik as is on our royal banner, and alsua ane bundell of launces above 
his helmet, with thir words, Readdy, ay Readdy, that he and all his 
aftercummers may bruik the samine, as a pledge and taikcn of our guid 
will and kyndnes for his true worthines ; and thir our letters seen, ye 
nae wayes failzie to doe. Given at Ffalla Muire, under our hand and 
privy cashet, the xxvii day of July, m c and xxxii zeires. By the King's 
graces special! ordinance. 

Jo. Arskine.' 

On the back of the charter is written, 
' Edin. 14 January, 1713. Registred, conform to the act of parlia- 
ment made anent probative writs, per M'Kaile, pror. and produced by 

* Sic in orig. 



202 NOTES. 

Alexander Borthwick, servant to Sir William Scott of Thirlestane. 
M. L. J.'" (Scott). 

I20. An aged k /light, etc. Cf. iii. 244 above. Scott says here : " The 
family of Harden are descended from a yourger son of the Laird of 
Buccleuch, who flourished before the estate of Murdieston was acquired 
by the marriage of one of those chieftains with the heiress, in 1296. 
Hence they bear the cognizance of the Scotts upon the field ; whereas 
those of the Buccleuch are disposed upon a bend dexter, assumed in 
consequence of that marriage. — See Gladstaine of Whitela'we's MSS., 
and Sc-o/t of Stokoe's Pedigree, Newcastle, 17S3. 

" Walter Scott of Harden, who flourished during the reign of Queen 
Mary, was a renowned Border freebooter, concerning whom tradition 
has preserved a variety of anecdotes, some of which have been pub- 
lished in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border ; others in Leyden's 
Scenes of Infancy ; and others, more lately, in The Moiintain Bard, a 
collection of Border ballads by Mr. James Hogg. The bugle-horn, 
said to have been used by this formidable leader, is preserved by his 
descendant, the present Mr. Scott of Harden. His castle was situated 
upon the very brink of a dark and precipitous dell, through which a 
scanty rivulet steals to meet the Borthwick. In the recess of this glen 
he is said to have kept his spoil, which served for the daily maintenance 
of his retainers, until the production of a pair of clean spurs, in a cov- 
ered dish, announced to the hungry band that they must ride for a 
supply of provisions. He w^as married to Mary Scott, daughter of 
Philip Scott of Dryhope, and called in song the Flower of Yarrow. 
He possessed a very extensive estate,, which was divided among his 
five sons. There are numerous descendants of this old marauding 
Baron. The following beautiful passage of Leyden's Scenes of Infancy, 
is founded on a tradition respecting an infant captive, whom Walter of 
Harden carried off in a predatory incursion, and who is said to have 
become the author of some of our most beautiful pastoral songs: 

' Where Bortha hoarse, that loads the meads with sand, 
Rolls her red tide to Teviot's western strand. 
Through slaty hills, whose sides are shagg"d with thorn, 
Where springs in scatter'd tufts the dark-green corn, 
Towers wood-girt Harden, far above the vale, 
And clouds of ravens o'er the turrets sail. 
A hardy race, who never shrunk from war, 
The Scott, to rival realms a mighty bar. 
Here fixed his mountain-home ; — a wide domain, 
And rich the soil, had purple lieath been grain ; 
But what the niggard ground of wealth denied. 
From fields more bless'd his fearless arm supplied. 

* The waning harvest-moon shone cold and bright ; 
The warder's horn was lieard at dead of night ; 
And as the massy portals wide were flung. 
With stamping hoofs the rocky pavement rung. 
What fair, half-veil'd. leans from her latticed hall, 
Wliere red the wavering gleams of torchlight fall? 
'T is Yarrow's fairest Flower, who, tlirough the gloom, 
Looks, wistful, for her lover's dancing plume. 
Amid the i:)iles of spoil that strew'd the ground, 
If er ear, all anxious, caught a wailing sound; 
With trembling haste the youthful matron flew, 
And from the liurried heaps an infant drew. 



CANTO IV. 203 

' Scared at the light, his little hands he flung 
Around her neck, and to her bosom clung ; 
While benuteous Mary soothed in accents mild 
His fluttering soul, and clasp'd her foster child. 
Of milder mood the gentle captive grew, 
Nor loved the scenes that scared his infant view ; 
In vales remote, from camps and castles far, 
He shunn'd the fearful shuddering joy of war; 
Content the loves of simple swains to sing, 
Or wake to fame the harp's heroic string. 

' His are the strains whose wandering echoes thrill 
The shepherd, lingering on the twilight hill. 
When evening brings the merry folding iiours. 
And sun-eyed daisies close their winking flowers. 
He lived o'er Yarrow's Flower to shed the tear, 
To strew the holly leaves o'er Harden's bier : 
But none was found above the minstrel's tomb, 
Emblem of peace, to bid the daisy bloom : 
He, nameless as the race from which he sprung, 
Saved other names, and left his own unsung.' " 

122. Azure hi a golden field. Heraldic phraseology, like bend just 
below. See the preceding note. 

125. Oakwood Toiver. In the vale of Ettrick, four miles southwest of 
Selkirk. It was once the residence of Michael Scott the wizard. 

140. Dinlay. A mountain in Liddesdale. 

143. A braver knight, etc. Scott was himself descended from Wat of 
Harden. A satirical piece, entitled " The Town Eclogue," which made 
much noise in Edinburgh shortly after the appearance of the Minstrelsy 
(in which there is another long note on Wat), has these lines: 

" A modern author spends a hundred leaves, 
To prove his ancestors notorious thieves." 

145. Scotts of Eskdale, etc. This and the next two stanzas (lines 145- 
223) were not in the 1st ed. Scott says in a note : " In this and the 
following stanzas, some account is given of the mode in which the prop- 
erty in the valley of Esk was transferred from the Beattisons, its ancient 
possessors, to the name of Scott. It is needless to repeat the circum- 
stances, which are given in the poem literally as they have been pre- 
served by tradition. Lord Maxwell, in the latter part of the sixteenth 
century, took upon himself the title of earl of Morton. The descend- 
ants of Beattison of Woodkerrick, who aided the earl to escape from 
his disobedient vassals, continued to hold these lands within the mem- 
ory of man, and were the only Beattisons who had property in the dale. 
The old people give locality to the story, by shewing the Galliard's 
Haugh, the place where Buccleuch's men were concealed, etc." 

157. Into fair Eskdale. The early eds. have " to fair Eskdale." 

159. Galliard. The word (Fr. gaillard) means gay or gallant. 

On Iieriot, Scott says : " The feudal superior, in certain cases, was 
entitled to the best horse of the vassal, in name of Heriot, or Herezeld." 
M. quotes Wharton's Law Lexicon, in which the word is defined thus : 
" Originally a tribute to the lord of a manor of the horse or habiliments 
of the deceased tenants, in order that the iniliticz apparatus might con- 
tinue to be used for the purpose of national defence by each succeeding 



204 N'OTES. 

tenant. On the decline of the military tenures, the heriot was com- 
muted for a money payment, or for the tenant's best beast {averhim), 
or dead chattel, which is most commonly compounded for." 

170. A/iiir. Moor, or heath. 

177. Cast. Pair; used only of hawks. In Scottish a cast of herrings 
means four, or as many as are thrown into a vessel at once. 

179. Beshrezv thy heart. That is, may evil befall it. Bcshrezu was 
"originally a mild, indeed very mild form of imprecation = woe to; 
sometimes so far from implying a curse as to be uttered coaxingly, nay 
even with some tenderness" (wSchmidt). Cf. Shakespeare, M. of V. ii. 
6. 52 : " Beshrew me, but I love her heartily," etc. 

206. Far Craikcross. The reading of the early eds. All the recent 
ones misprint "fair Craikcross." 

226-229. Fro77i Yarrozv-deJigh, etc. These four lines are not in the 
1st ed. 

^^ Belle?ideii is situated near the head of Borthwick Water, and being 
in the centre of the possessions of the Scotts, was frequently used as 
their place of rendezvous and gathering word [Sia-vey of Selkirkshire, in 
Macfarlane'' s Jl/SS., Advocates' Librarv). Hence Satchells calls one 
part of his genealogical account of the families of that clan, his Bellen- 
den " (Scott). But on this occasion, as M. notes, the place of rendezvous 
would seem to have been Branksome itself. 

249. Plained. Complained (but not a contraction of that woid), 
wailed. Cf. Shakespeare, C. of E. i. I. ']2i'- "The piteous plainings of 
the pretty babes," etc. 

251. Some fairy, sure, had changed the child. As often happened, 
according to popular belief. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. i. 10. 65 : 

" From tlience a Faery thee unweeting reft, 

There as thou slepst in tender swadling band ; 

And her base Elfin brood tliere for tliee left : 
Such men do Chaungelings call, so chaung'd by Faeries theft." 

258. Ranglelmriis. A quadrisyllable, like Unicornis in i. 207 above. 
See note on that word. 

The Ranglcbiirn, or Rankleburn, flows into the Ettrick not far from 
Bncclench, the old estate of the Scotts, whence they took their title. See 
on p. 149 above. 

267. Mickle. An old and Northern form for vuich. Cf. Milton, 
Covins, 31: "A noble peer of mickle trust and power" (the only in- 
stance in which he uses the word in verse). 

269. As a shalloiu brook, etc. See on iii. 155 above. 

274. A cloth-yard shaft. " An arrow of a cloth-yard long," as the 
old ballad of Chevy-Chace has it. Cf. Lear, iv. 6. 88 : " Draw me a 
clothier's yard." See also quotation in note on iii. 227 above. 

259. A jneasnred, etc. The early eds. all have "And measured," etc. 
The change may be a misprint. 

291. The Ahfiayn's snllen kettle-drnm. As M. notes, Almayn, or Ger- 
man, mercenaries were often employed in mediaeval w^ars, especially in 
Italy and France. But indeed, "free companies," as they were called, 
whose services were at the disposal of the highest bidder, were formed 



CANTO IV. 205 

of all nationalities. They were active on both sides in the fourteenth- 
century wars between France and England, some of the leaders being 
prominent figures in the politics of the period. Cf. 76 above. 

292. Sheen. Bright, shining. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. ii. i. 10: " So faire 
and sheene," etc. 

299. Kendal archers. From Kendal in Westmoreland. 

303. Billmen. Armed with the bill (310), a kind of battle-axe fixed 
to a long pole. Cf. Mannion, i. 103 : 

" Four men-at-arms came at their backs, 
With lialbevt, bill, and battle-axe" 

304. On Irthing. On the banks of the Irthing, a river of Cumber- 
land, flowing into the Eden. 

305. Kirtles. See on iii. 221 above. 

307. Acre's conijuered -cuall. See on 75 above. 

317. They kneza no country, ^\.c. Scott says here: "The mercenary 
adventurers, whom, in 1380, the Earl of Cambridge carried to the 
assistance of the King of Portugal against the Spaniards, mutinied for 
want of regular pay. At an assembly of their leaders, Sir John Soltier, 
a natural son of Edward the Black Prince, thus addressed them : ' " I 
counsayle, let us be alle of one alliance, and of one accorde, and let us 
among ourselves reyse up the baner of St. George, and let us be frendes 
to God, and enemyes to alle the worlde ; for without we make ourselfe 
to be feared, we gette nothynge." " By my fayth." quod Sir William 
Helmon, "ye saye right well, and so let us do." They all agreed with 
one voyce, and so regarded among them who shulde be their capitayne. 
Then they advysed in the case how they coude nat have a better capi- 
tayne than Sir John Soltier. For they sulde than have good leyser to 
do yvel, and they thought he was more metelyer thereto than any other. 
Then they raised up the penon of St. George, and cried, "A Soltier! 
a Soltier ! the valyaunt bastarde ! frendes to God, and enemies to all 
the worlde ! " ' [Froissart, vol. i. ch. 393)." 

319. Levin-darting guns. "There is, strange to say, the greatest un- 
certainty about the exact date of the introduction of hand-guns into 
warfare. The earliest known use of them in England was in 1471, 
when Edward IV. landed in Yorkshire, having in his train 300 Flemings 
armed with hand-guns. They are also known to have been used at the 
siege of Berwick in 1521. The English government was slow in adopt- 
ing the new invention, though Scott is perhaps not strictly accurate in 
arming English soldiers with the bow only as late as 1559. The slow 
spread of firearms was probably due more to the scarcity of gunpowder 
than to anything else. Till the discovery of nitre in India in the seven- 
teenth century, gunpowder was not plentiful" (M.). 

For /^Z7« = lightning (obsolete, except in poetry), cf. Marmion, i. 400: 
" Mid thunder-dint and flashing levin," etc. See also vi. 429 below. 

320. Frounced. Plaited. Ci. W\\ton, II Fens. 123: " Not tricked and 
frounced, as she was wont," etc. 

321. Morsing-horns. "Powder-flasks" (Scott). 

322. Better knee. Right knee. Cf. note on 76 above. 

330. Glaive. Broadsword; as in 413 below. Qi. Lady of the Lake, \\. 
274: " The hand that held the glaive," etc. 



2o6 A'OTES. 

331. Battle's. Army's. Cf. Henry V. iv. prol. 9: "Each battle sees 
the other's umlDcr'd face," etc. 

333. To ^Q;ain his spurs. That is, to win the badge of knighthood. 
Cf. Mannion, i. 95: "They burned the gilded spurs to claim/' etc. 

334. Glove. In the same construction ■a'^ favor. Cf. Rich. II. v. 3. iS: 

" And from tlie common'st creature pluck a glove, 
And wear it as a favour," etc. 

339. And cried, etc. The Critical I\evie7v remarks : " The stanzas 
describing the march of the l^iglish forces, and the investiture of the 
Castle of Branxholm, disjilay a great knowledge of ancient costume, as 
well as a most picturesque and lively picture of feudal warfare." 

344. Bartizan. A small overhanging turret. 

345. Partisan. A kind of halberd, or long-handled battle-axe. Cf. 
Hamlet, \. I. 140: " Shall I strike at it with my partisan.'*" 

346. Falcon and culver. Small cannon, which were in use for a cen- 
tury before hand firearms were introduced. 

351. Seething pitch, etc. For pouring upon the heads of the besiegers. 
Towers had i)rojecting galleries with slits through which the hot shower 
could be let fall. 

365. A gauntlet on a spear. " A glove upon a lance was the emblem 
of faith among the ancient Borderers, who were wont, when any one 
broke his word, to expose this emblem, and proclaim him a faithless 
villain at the first liorder meeting. This ceremony was much dreaded. 
See Lcsly " (Scott). 

374. Gilsla?id. A town and district in Cumberland, not far from the 
Border. 

2T]- Beads. Counsels ; an old sense of the word. We still say 
"read one a lesson." Cf. Sjienser, F. Q.\.i. i^: " Therefore I read be- 
ware," etc. See also the noun in F. Q. vi. 2. 30 : '" To whose wise read 
she hearkning;" Hamlet, i. 3. 51 : " And recks not his own rede," etc. 

Sjuith. Quickly. Cf. Gammer Gurton, ii. 47 : " Hence swythe to Dr. 
Rat hye thee ; " King Estmere (Percy's Reliqnes) : " And swithe he drew 
his brand," etc. 

387, Purstdvant-at-arms. " Literally, *one who follows,' that is, upon 
a herald ; an officer-at-arms of the degree l^elow a herald. The herald 
had to pass through this stage on his way to the higher dignity, and, 
while a piu-suivant, wore his tabard with the sleeves turned round to 
back and breast. See note to Strutt's Dress and Habits, Blanche's edi- 
tion, p. 188. It is doubtful whether Scott was right in dressing the 
pursuivant in Lord Howard's livery (393) : he was a state official " (M.). 

394. The lion argent. The badge of the Howards. Cf. 505 below. 

400. Irks. The verb was at first used personally ; as in Surrey's 
ALncid, ii. 18: "The Grekes chieftaines all irked with the war," Udall, 
yohn, xii. : " ignominie irketh them muche," etc. Afterwards it came 
to be used only impersonally; as often in the Elizabethan writers. Cf. 
F. Q. vi. ID. 29 : 

" Sayd Calidore: ' Now sure it yrkcth mee, 
That to thy blisse I made this luckelcsse breach,' " etc. 



CANTO IV. 207 

407. Flemens-firth. " An asylum for outlaws " (Scott). 

409. March-treason pain. Scott says : *' Several species of offences, 
peculiar to the Border, constituted what was called march-treason. 
Among others, was the crime of riding, or causing to ride, against the 
opposite country during the time of truce. Thus, in an indenture made 
at the water oi Eske, beside Saloni, on the 25th day of March, 1334, 
betwixt noble lords and mighty, Sirs Henry Percy, Earl of Northum- 
berland, and Archibald Douglas, Lord of Galloway, a truce is agreed 
upon until the ist day of July; and it is expressly accorded, ' Gif ony 
stellis authir on the ta part, or on the tothyr, that he shall be hanget or 
heofdit ; and gif ony company stellis any gudes within the trieux before- 
sayd, ane of that company sail be hanget or heofdit, and the remanant 
sail restore the gadys stolen in the dubble ' {History of Westmoreland 
and Cnniberlaud, introd. p. xxxix.)." 

410. Saint Cnthbert's even. The festival of this saint (for whom see 
Marmion, ii. 254 fol. and note in our ed. p. 266) occurs on the 20th 
of March. 

411. Pricked. See on iii. 24 above. 

412. Harried. "Plundered" (Scott). Cf. Tennyson, The Coming of 
Arthur, 9 : 

" And still from time to time the heathen host 
Swarmed overseas, and harried what was left." 

413. Glaive. See on 330 above. 

418. Warrison. Scott defines this as " note of assault;" but there 
seems to be no other authority for this sense. In Chaucer and other 
old writers, warison = guerdon, reward. 

426. Cheer. Face, look ; its original sense. Cf. Shakespeare, Af. 
N. D. iii. 2. 96: "pale of cheer; " Lady of the Lake, iii. 332: "With 
changed cheer," etc. 

434. Yoicr lords. The ist ed. has " Thy lords." Emprise = enter- 
prise ; as in Lady of the Lake, i. 478 : " I '11 lightly front each high em- 
prise," etc. 

437. Will cleanse him by oath. Scott says : " In dubious cases, the 
innocence of Border criminals was occasionally referred to their own 
oath. The form of excusing bills, or indictments, by Border-oath, ran 
thus : ' You shall swear by heaven above you, hell beneath you, by 
your part of Paradise, by all that God made in six days and seven 
nights, and by God himself, you are whart out sackless of art, part, 
way, witting, ridd, kenning, having, or recetting of any of the goods 
and cattels named in this bill. So help you (Jod ' {History of Cumber- 
land, introd. p. xxv.)." 

442. Knighthood he took, etc. " The dignity of knighthood, accord- 
ing to the original institution, had this peculiarity, that it did not flow 
from the monarch, but could be conferred by one who himself possessed 
it, upon any squire who, after due probation, was found to merit the 
honor of chivalry. Latterly, this power was confined to generals, who 
were wont to create knights l)annerets after or before an engagement. 
Even so late as the reign of Queen Elizal)eth, Essex highly offended 
h's jealous sovereign by the indiscriminate exertion of this privilege. 



2o8 AX-) TES. 

Among others, he knighted the witty Sir John Harrington, whose favor 
at court was by no means enhanced by his new honors. See the N'ugcE 
Antiqticv, edited by Mr. Park. But probably the latest instance of 
knighthood, conferred by a subject, was in the case of Thomas Ker, 
knighted by the Earl of Huntley, after the defeat of the Earl of Argyle 
in the battle of Belrinnes. The fact is attested, both by a poetical and 
prose account of the engagement, contained in an ancient MS. in the 
Advocates' Library, and edited by Mr. Dalyell, in Godly Sajigs and 
Ballets, Edin. 1802" (Scott). 

443. Ancram ford. " The battle of Ancram Moor, or Penielheuch, 
was fought A. D. 1545. The English, commanded by Sir Ralph Evers, 
and Sir Brian Latoun, were totally routed, and both their leaders slain 
in the action. The Scottish army was commanded by Archibald Dou- 
glas, Earl of Angus, assisted by the Laird of Buccleuch and Norman 
Lesley " (Scott). 

444. And but Lord nacre's steed tvas wight. The early eds. have 
" And but that," etc. For luight, see on i. 36 above. 

447. For the young heir, etc. As for, etc. 

453. Slogan. See on i. 63 above. Lyke-iuake = " the watching of a 
corpse previous to interment" (Scott). 

458. " Pensils, or pensels, is used by Lord Berners iox the pemion- 
ceaiix, little pennons or streamers in the form of a swallow's tail, at- 
tached to the lance of a knight. When the Black Prince created Sir 
John Chandos a knight banneret before the battle of Navaretta, he cut 
off the tails of his pennoncel to make it a banner " (M.). 

470. What make you, etc. What do you, etc. Cf. Shakespeare, 
A. V. L. i. I. 31 : " What make you here ? " The phrase is very com- 
mon in the plays, and is quibbled upon in L. L. L. iv. 3. 190 fol. and 
Rich. III. i. 3. 164 fol., as well as in the context of the passage just 
quoted. 

474. Ruber slaxv. A mountain not far from Hassendean (see on i. 272 
above) and Denholm, the birthplace of Scott's friend, John Leyden, 
who describes the height as one 

"that lifts its head sublime 
Ragged and hoary with the wrecks of time." 

475. Weapon-schaw. "The military array of a county " (Scott) ; lit- 
erally, show of weapons. 

481. Rood. Cross. See on introd. 80 above. 

498. Harquebuss. See on 76 above. On row = in a row. 

505. The Blanche Lion. " This was the cognizance of the noble 
house of Howard in all its branches. The crest, or bearing, of a war- 
rior, was often used as a nojunie de guerre. Thus Richard HL acquired 
his well-known epithet. The Boar of York. In the violent satire on 
Cardinal Wolsey, written by Roy, commonly, but erroneously, imputed 
to Dr. Bull, the Duke of Buckingham is called the Beautiful Sxvan, 
and the Duke of Norfolk, or Earl of Surrey, the White Lion. As the 
book is extremely rare, and the whole passage relates to the emblemati- 
cal interpretation of heraldry, it shall be here given at length : 



CANTO IV. 209 

' The description of the A rtnes. 

' Of the proud Cardinal this is the shelde, 
Borne up betweene two angels of Sathan ; 
The six bloudy axes in a bare felde, 
Sheweth the cruelte of the red man, 
Which hath devoured the Beautiful Swan, 
Mortal enemy unto the Whyte Lion, 
Carter of Yorke, the vyle butcher's sonne. 
The six bulles heddes in a felde blacke, 
Betokeiieth his stordy furiousness, 
Wherefore, the godly lyght to put abacke, 
He bryngeth in his dyvlish darcness ; 
Tiie bandog in the middes doth expresse 
The mastiff curre bred in Ypswich towne, 
Gnawynge with his teth a kinges crowne. 
The cloubbe signifieth playne his tiranny, 
Covered over with a Cardinals hatt, 
Wherein shall be fulfilled the prophecy, 
Aryse up, Jacke, and put on thy salatt, 
F'or the tyme is come of bagge and walatt. 
The temporall chevalry thus thrown doune, 
Wherefor, prest, take hede, and beware thy crowne.' 

" There were two copies of this very scarce satire in the library of 
the late John, Duke of Roxburghe. See an account of it also in Sir 
Egerton Brydges' curious miscellaiiy, the Ceiisicra Literaria^' (Scott). 

509. Certes. Certainly. Cf. Temp. iii. 3. 30: " For, certes, these are 
people of the island," etc. It was nearly obsolete in the time of Shake- 
speare, who uses it only five times. It was a favorite archaism with 
Spenser. 

512. Let Miisgrave, etc. Scott has this note here : " It may easily be 
supposed, that trial by single combat, so peculiar to the feudal system, 
was common on the Borders. In 1558, the well-known Kirkaldy of 
Grange fought a duel with Ralph Evre, brother to the then Lord Evre, 
in consequence of a dispute about a prisoner said to have been ill 
treated by the Lord Evre. Pitscottie gives the following account of 
the affair : ' The Lord of Ivers his brother provoked William Kir- 
caldy of Grange to fight with him, in singular combat, on horseback, 
with spears ; who, keeping the appointment, accompanied with Mon- 
sieur d'Ossel, lieutenant to the French King, and the garrison of Hay- 
mouth, and Mr. Ivers, accompanied with the governor and garrison of 
Berwick, it was discharged, under the pain of treason, that any man 
should come near the champions within a flight-shot, except one man 
for either of them, to bear their spears, two trumpets, and two lords to 
be judges. When they were in readiness, the trumpets sounded, the 
heralds cried, and the judges let them go. They then encountered very 
fiercely ; but Grange struck his spear through his adversary's shoulder, 
and bare him off his horse, being sore wounded : But whether he died, 
or not, it is uncertain' (p. 202). 

" The following indenture will shew at how late a period the trial 
by combat was resorted to on the Border, as a proof of guilt or 
innocence : — 

" ' It is agreed between Thomas Musgrave and Lancelot Carleton, 
for the true trial of such controversies as are betwixt them, to have it 
openly tried by way of combat, before God and the face of the world, to 

14 



2IO NOTES. 

try it in Canonbyholme, before England and Scotland, upon Thursday 
in Easter-week, being the eighth day of April next ensuing, a. d. 1602, 
betwixt nine of the clock, and one of the same day, to fight on foot, to 
be armed with jack, steel cap, plaite sleeves, plaite breaches, plaite 
sockes, two basleard swords, the blades to be one yard and half a quar- 
ter of length, two Scotch daggers, or dorks, at their girdles, and either 
of them to provide armour and weapons for themselves, according to 
this indenture. Two gentlemen to be apiDointed, on the field, to view 
both the parties, to see that they both be equal in arms and weapons, 
according to this indenture ; and being so viewed by the gentlemen, the 
gentlemen to ride to the rest of the company, and to leave them but 
two boys, viewed by the gentlemen, to be under sixteen years of age, to 
hold their horses. In testimony of this our agreement, we have both 
set our hands to this indenture, of intent all matters shall be made so 
plain, as there shall be no question to stick upon that day. Which in- 
denture, as a witness, shall be delivered to two gentlemen. And for 
that it is convenient the world should be privy to every particular of 
the grounds of the quarrel, we have agreed to set it down in this inden- 
ture betwixt us, that, knowing the quarrel, their eyes may be witness of 
the trial. 

THE GROUNDS OF THE QUARREL. 

" ' I. Lancelot Carleton did charge Thomas Musgrave before the 
Lords of her Majesty's Privy Council, that Lancelot Carleton was told 
by a gentleman, one of her INIajesty's sworn servants, that Thomas Mus- 
grave had offered to deliver her Majesty's Castle of Bewcastle to the 
King of Scots; and to witness the same, Lancelot Carleton had a letter 
under the gentleman's own hand for his discharge. 

*' * 2. He chargeth him, that whereas her Majesty doth yearly bestow 
a great fee upon him, as captain of Bewcastle, to aid and defend her 
Majesty's subjects therein : Thomas Musgrave hath neglected his duty, 
for that her Majesty's Castle of Bewcastle was by him made a den of 
thieves, and an harbour and receipt for murderers, felons, and all sorts 
of misdemeanors. The precedent was Quintin Whitehead and Runion 
Blackburne. 

" ' 3. He chargeth him, that his office of Bewcastle is open for the 
Scotch to ride in and through, and small resistance made by him to the 
contrary. 

"'Thomas Musgrave doth deny all this charge; and saith, that he 
will prove that Lancelot Carleton doth falsely bely him, and will prove 
the same by way of combat, according to this indenture. Lancelot 
Carleton hath entertained the challenge ; and so, by God's permission, 
will prove it true as before, and hath set his hand to the same. 

(Signed) Thomas Musgrave. 

Lancelot Carleton.' " 

518. Brook. A pet word with Scott. Cf. 489 just above and 576 
below. 

540. Falls. Befalls, turns out. Cf. Lady of the Lake, i. 317: "Or 
fall the worst that may betide," etc. 



CANTO IV. 211 

555. Lists. The field of combat, perhaps so called from the lists, or 
strips of cloth enclosing it. See Skeat, and cf. v. 153 below. 

56S. Whenas. When; often printed as two words in old books. Cf. 
Marmioii, i. 472 : " Whenas the Palmer came in hall," etc. 

570. The jovial harper. Scott says : "The person here alluded to, is 
one of our ancient Border minstrels, called Rattling Roaring Willie. 
This sobriquet was probably derived from his bullying disposition ; 
being, it would seem, such a roaring boy as is frequently mentioned in 
old plays. While drinking at Newmill, upon Teviot, about five miles 
above Hawick, Willie chanced to quarrel with one oE his own profes- 
sion, who was usually distinguished by the odd name of Sweet Milk, 
from a place on Rule Water so called. They retired to a meadow on 
the opposite side of the Teviot, to decide the contest with their swords, 
and Sweet Milk was killed on the spot. A thorn-tree marks the scene 
of the murder, which is still called Sweet Milk Thorn. Willie was 
taken and executed at Jedburgh, bequeathing his name to the beautiful 
Scotch air, called ' Rattling Roaring Willie.' Ramsay, who set no 
value on traditionary lore, published a few verses of this song in the 
Tea-table Miscellany, carefully suppressing all which had any connexion 
with the history of the author and origin of the piece. In this case, 
however, honest Allan is in some degree justified, by the extreme worth- 
lessness of the poetry. A verse or two may be taken, as illustrative of 
the history of Roaring Willie, alluded to in the text : 

* Now Willie 's gane to Jeddart, 

And he ' s for the rood-day ; ' 
But Stobs and young Falnash - 

They follow' d him a' the way ; 
They follow'd him a' the way, 

They sought him up and down, 
In the links of Ousenam water 

They fand him sleeping sound. 

' Stobs light aff his horse. 

And never a word he spak, 
Till he tied Willie's hands 

Fu' fast behind his back ; 
Fu' ia.it beiiind his back. 

And down beneath liis knee. 
And drink will be dear to Willie, 

When sweet milk^ gars him die. 

' Ah wae light on ye, Stobs ! 

An ill death mot ye die ; 
Yi 're the first and foremost man 

That e'er laid hands on me ; 
That e'er laid hands on me, 

And took my mare me frae : 
Wae to you, Sir Gilbert Elliot I 

Ye are my mortal fae ! 

'The lasses of Ousenam water 

Are rugging and riving their hair. 
And a' for the sake of Willie, 
His beauty was so fair : 

1 The day of the Rood-fair at Jedburgh. 

- Sir Gilbert Elliot of Stobs, and Scott of Falnash. 

3 A wretched pun on his antagonist's name. 



212 AZOTES. 

His beauty was so fair, 

And comely for to see, 
And drink will be dear to Willie, 

When sweet milk gars him die.' " 

574. Black Lord Archibald'' s hattle-laivs. "The title to the most an- 
cient collection of Border regulations runs thus: 'Be it remembered, 
that, on the i8th day of December, 1468, Earl William Douglas assem- 
bled the whole lords, freeholders, and eldest Borderers, that best 
knowledge had, at the college of Linclotidcfi : and there he caused 
these lords and Borderers bodily to be sworn, the Holy (lospel touched, 
that they, justly and truly, after their cunning, should decrete, decern, 
deliver, and put in order and writing, the statutes, ordinances, and uses 
of marche, that were ordained in Black Archibald of Douglas's days, and 
Archibald his son's days, in time of warfare ; and thev came again to 
him advisedly with these statutes and ordinances, which were in time 
of warfare before. The said Earl William, seeing the statutes in writ- 
ing decreed and delivered by the said lords and Borderers, thought 
them right sj^eedful and profitable to the Borders ; the which statutes, 
ordinances, and points of warfare, he took, and the whole lords and 
Borderers he caused bodily to be sworn, that they should maintain and 
supply him at their goodly power, to do the law upon those that should 
break the statutes underwritten. Also, the said Earl William, and lords, 
and eldest Borderers, made cei tain points to be treason in time of war- 
fare to be used, which were no treason before his time, but to be treason 
in his time, and in all time coming ' " (Scott). 

591. Air. The word means sand-bank. 

614. Minio)i. Favorite; the earlier meaning of the word. Cf. Syl- 
vester's Z>// j^^/r/a.? (1605) : "God's disciple and his dearest minion;" 
Stirling's Domes-day : "Immortal minions in their Maker's sight," etc, 

616. In sooth. See on introd. 67 above. 

617. Hearse. Tomb. The herse, or hearse, was originally a tem- 
porary canoi:»v covered with candles, which was placed over the coffin 
during the funeral ceremonies ; afterwards the word came to mean a 
permanent canopy over a tomb, or (at least in poetry) the tomb itself. 

620. Smile. For the rhyme, cf. 267, 26S above, and see on introd. 98. 



CANTO FIFTH. 

29. Antiqjie. Accented on the first syllable, as often in Scott and 
regularly in Elizabethan poetry. Q,i. Marmioii, iv. introd. 171: "The 
legend of that antique knight;'" Id. v. 559: "The antique buildings, 
climbing high;" Shakespeare, A. Y. L. ii. i. 31 : "Under an oak, 
whose antique root peeps out," etc. 

36. Ii7ipel the rill. That is, add to its flow. Q{. A. Y. L. ii. I. 42 : 

" Stood on the extremest ver^e of the swift brook, 
Augmenting it with tears," 

49. Vails. It avails, or profits. See on iii. 149 above. 
51. The Bloody Heart, etc. " The chief of this potent race of heroes, 
about the date of the poem, was Archibald Douglas, seventh Earl of 



CANTO V. 213 

Angus, a man of great courage and activity. The Bloody Heart was 
the well-known cognizance of the House of Douglas, assumed from the 
time of good Lord James, to whose care Robert Bruce committed his 
heart, to be carried to the Holy Land " (Scott). 

53. Vails not to tell, etc. Lines 53-58 were inserted in the 2d ed. 
The 1st reads : 

" Vails not to tell what hundreds more 
From the rich Merse and Lammermore," etc. 

Spurn. Kick up their heels. The word properly means to kick with 
the spur (whence it is derived), as in vi. 172 below. 

54. The Seven Spears, etc. " Sir David Home, of Wedderburn, who 
was slain in the fatal battle of Flodden, left seven sons by his wife 
Isabel, daughter of Hoppringle of Galashiels (now Pringle of White- 
bank). They were called the Seven Spears of Wedderburne " (Scott). 

56. Laid the lance in rest. See on iii. 34 above. 

58. Clarence\s Plantagenet. " At the battle of Beauge, in France, 
Thomas, Duke of Clarence, brother to Henry V., was unhorsed by Sir 
John Swinton of Swinton, who distinguished him by a coronet set with 
precious stones, which he wore around his helmet. The family of 
Swinton is one of the most ancient in Scotland, and produced many 
celebrated warriors" (Scott). Sir John Swinton was one of the poet's 
ancestors. 

62. Beneath the crest, etc. " The Earls of Home, as descendants of 
the Dunbars, ancient Earls of March, carried a lion rampant, argent ; 
but, as a difference, changed the color of the shield from gules to vert, 
in allusion to Greenlaw, their ancient possession. The slogan, or war- 
cry, of this powerful family, was, ' A Home ! a Home ! ' It was an- 
ciently placed in an escrol above the crest. The helmet is armed with 
a lion's head erased gules, with a cap of state gules, turned up ermine. 
The Ifepburns, a powerful family in East Lothian, were usually in close 
alliance with the Homes. The chief of this clan was Hepburn, Lord 
of Hailes, a family which terminated in the too famous Earl of 
Bothwell" (Scott). 

no. The football play. "The football was anciently a very favorite 
sport all through Scotland, but especially upon the Borders. Sir John 
Carmichael of Carmichael, Warden of the Middle Marches, was killed in 
1600 by a band of the Armstrongs, returning from a football match. Sir 
Robert Carey, in his Memoirs, mentions a great meeting, appointed by 
the Scotch riders to be held at Kelso for the purpose of playing at foot- 
ball, but which terminated in an incursion upon England. At present, 
the football is often played by the inhabitants of adjacent parishes, or 
of the opposite banks of a stream. The victory is contested with the 
utmost fury, and very serious accidents have sometimes taken place in 
the struggle" (Scott). 

119. Whingers. "A sort of knife or poniard " (Scott). 

122. ^ Twixt tricce a7id war, etc. "Notwithstanding the constant wars 
upon the Borders, and the occasional cruelties which marked the 
mutual inroads, the inhabitants on either side do not appear to have 
regarded each other with that violent and personal animosity, which 
might have been expected. On the contrary, like the outposts of hos- 



214 NOTES. 

tile armies, they often carried on something resembling friendly inter- 
course, even in the middle of hostilities; and it is evident, from various 
ordinances against trade and intermarriages, between English and Scot- 
tish Borderers, that the governinents of both countries were jealous of 
their cherishing too intimate a connexion. Froissart says of both nations, 
that * Englyshnien on the one party, and Scottes on the other party, arc 
good men of warre ; for when they meet, there is a harde fight without 
sparynge. There is no hoo \truce\ between them, as long as spears, 
swords, axes, or daggers, will endure, but lay on eche upon uther; aiid 
whan they be well beaten, and that the one party hath obtained the 
victory, they then gloryfye so in theyre dedes of armies, and are so 
joyful], that such as be taken they shall be ransomed, or that they go 
out of the felde; so that shortly eche of them is so content with other, 
that, at their departynge, curtyslye they will say, God thank you ' 
(Berners's Froissart^ vol. ii. p. 153). The Border meetings of truce 
which, although places of merchandise and merriment, often witnessed 
the most bloody scenes, may serve to illustrate the description in the 
text. They are vividly portrayed in the old ballad of the Reidsqjiair 
[see Minstrelsy\. Both parties came armed to a meeting of the wardens, 
yet they intermixed fearlessly and peaceably with each other in mutual 
sports and familiar intercourse, until a casual fray arose : 

' Then was there nought but bow and spear. 
And every man pulled out a brand.' 

" In the 29th stanza of this canto, there is an attempt to express some 
of the mixed feelings, with which the Borderers on each side were led 
to regard their neighbors" (Scott). 

128. Wassail gay. " Geoffrey of Monmouth's story of the meeting of 
Vortigern and Rowena is well known. Hengist, Rowena's father, in- 
vited Vortigern to a feast, and ' when that was over, the young lady 
came out of her chamber bearing a golden cup full of wine, and making 
a low courtesy, said to him, "Lord King, ivcfs /icrl!" The King, at 
the sight of the lady's face, was on a sudden surprised and inflamed 
with her beauty; and calling to his interpreter, asked him what she said 
and what answer he should make her. '* She called you Lord King," 
said the interpreter, " and offered to drink your health. Your answer 
to her must be Drinc keel!'* Vortigern accordingly answered Drin.- 
hcti ! and bade her drink; after which he took the cup from her hand, 
kissed her, and drank himself. From that time to this, it has been tl:c 
custom in Britain that he who drinks to any one says Was Juvl ! and he 
that pledges him answers Drinc hcrl ! ' Was hcvl means simply ' be hale 
or whole,' and Drinc hcd (Drink, hale), 'drink, and health be with 
you I' See Skeat " (M.). 

139. The shrill zuatchzuord, etc. Scott has this note here : " Patten 
remarks, with bitter censure, the disorderly conduct of the English 
Borderers, who attended the Protector Somerset on his expedition 
against Scotland. 'As we wear then a setling, and the tents a setting 
up, among all things els commendable in our hole journey, one thing 
seemed to me an intollerable disorder and abuse : that whereas always, 
both in all tonnes of war, and in all campes of armies, quietness and 
stilnes, without nois, is, principally in the night, after the watch is set. 



CANTO V. 215 

observed, (I nede not reason why,) our northern prikers, the Borderers, 
notwithstandyng, with great enorniitie, (as thought me,) and not unlike 
(to be playn)'unto a masteries hounde howlying in a hie way when he 
hath lost him he waited upon, sum hoopvnge, sum whistlyng, and most 
with crying, A Berwvke, a Berwyke ! A Fenvvyke, a Fenwyke ! A Bul- 
mer, a Bulmer ! or so ootherwise as theyr captains names wear, never 
lin'cie these troublous and dangerous noyses all the nyghte longe. They 
said, they did it to find their captain and fellows ; but if the souldiers 
of our oother countreys and sheres had used the same maner, in that 
case we should have oft tymes had the state of our campe more like the 
outrage of a dissolute huntyng, than the quiet of a well ordered armye. 
It is a feat of war, in mine opinion, that might right well be left. I 
could reherse causes (but yf I take it, they are better unspoken than 
uttred, unless the faut wear sure to be amended) that might shew thei 
move alweis more peral to our armie, but in their one nyght's so 
doynge, than they shew good service (as some sey) in a hoole vyage ' 
{Apud Dalzell's 'Fragments, p. 75)." 

152. Strong pales, etc. This line is not in the ist ed. 

163. Bower. Chamber. See on introd. 16 above. 

165. By times. Betimes (in which be-= by) ; by the proper time, or 
in good time. 

179. Oiisenam botvers. Ousenam, or Oxnam, the seat of the Crans- 
touns, was near Jedburgh. 

190. Urchin. The word is often = mischievous elf. _ Cf.^ Shake- 
speare, 71/. W. iv. 4. 49: "urchins, ouphes [elves], and fairies." They 
were probably so called because they sometimes took the form of 
urchins, or hedgehogs. Cf. Caliban's account of Prospero's spirits in 
Temp. ii. 2. 9 : 

" Sometime like apes, that mow and chatter at mo, 
And after bite me; then like hedgehogs, which 
Lie tumbling in my barefoot way, and mount 
Their pricks at my footfall," etc. 

193. Hermitage. The Castle of Hermitage, the grand stronghold 
of the Douglases, is one of the most interesting historic edifices on the 
Border. It is about thirtv miles from Carlisle, and four miles from the 
Steele Road station on tlie railway between that city and Edinburgh. 
It is believed to have been built in 1244 by Walter Comyn, Earl of 
Monteith ; and the exterior, with its four rectangular towers, is still 
quite perfect. It was taken by the English in the reign of David II., 
but was recovered by William^Douglas, the Black Knight of Liddes- 
dale. Queen Marv, accompanied by Murray, visited Bothwell here, 
while he was suffering from a wound soon after Rizzio's murder. Cf. 
ii. 382 above. 

196. Vassalage. Vassals ; the abstract for the concrete. This use of 
the word is rare ; but cf. Shakespeare, T. and C iii. 2. 40: 

" Like vassalage at unawares encountering 
The eye of majesty." 

224. Silver link. The ist ed. has " silver cord." 

229. Blasts. The early eds. (down to 1821) have ''blast." 



2i6 NOTES. 

230. Port. ** A martial piece of music, adapted to the bagpipes" 
(Scott). 

242. ''Tuuxt Harden and 'tzuixt Thirlestane. Lockhart reminds us 
that Harden was an ancestor of Scott, and Thirlestane of Lord Napier, 
Lord Lieutenant of the county of which Scott was Sheriff when the 
Lay was written. For the use of 'twixt cf. 442 below. 

243. Gan. See on 1-253 above. 

250. Her charm. Cf. iii. 290 fol. above. 

259. Buff. " A material so thick as often to resist a blow from a 

sword "(P-) • 

260. Slashed. That is, cut so as to shew the satin lining through the 
openings. 

264. Bilboa blade. Bilboa in Spain was famous for the manufacture 
of iron and steel ; hence a fine Spanish blade was often called a bilbo. 
Cf. Shakespeare, M. W. iii. 5. 112: "like a good bilbo;" Drayton, 
Battle of Aginconrt : "And forth their bilbows drew," etc. 

271. Wimple. A kind of plaited kerchief. Cf. F. Q. i. 12. 22 : "And 
widow-like sad wimple," etc. See also Isaiah, iii. 22. We also find laim- 
ple as a verb = plait, or fold; as in i^. ^. i. i. 4 : " Under a vele, that 
wimpled was full low," etc. 

280. Cause of terror, etc. Cranstoun had of course made her the con- 
fidant of his plan, which is nngiiessed by the others until he makes him- 
self known in 390 below. 

286. Scarce rued the boy, etc. A " touch of nature." 

292, 293, While to each knight, etc. This couplet was added in 
the 2d ed. 

301. Till thus the alternate heralds spoke. For the speeches of the 
heralds, and the other formalities of the occasion, cf. Rich. II. i. 3. 
Jeffrey remarks : " The whole scene of the duel, or judicial combat, is 
conducted according to the strictest ordinances of chivalry, and de- 
lineated with all the minuteness of an ancient romancer. The modern 
reader will probably find it rather tedious ; all but the concluding stan- 
zas, which are in a loftier measure — ' 'T is done ! 't is done,' etc." 

305. Dcspiteous scathe. Despiteful injury. Cf. K. John, i. 4. 34 : 
"Turning dispiteous torture out of door" (the only instance of the 
word in Shakespeare) ; and Id. ii. i. 75 : "To do offence and scath in 
Christendom," etc. 

311. Strain. Stock, race. Qi. Julius Cctsar, v. i. 59: ''O, if thou 
wert the noblest of thy strain," etc. 

313. His coat. That is, his coat-of-arms, or the honor of his name. 

319-324. Then, Teviot, etc. For these six lines the ist ed. has only 
the couplet : 

" At the last words, with deadly blows, 
The i^eady warriors fiercely close." 

334. Clay?nore. "A large sword" (Gaelic claidheamh, sword, and 
more, great). 

344. Gorget. A piece of armor to defend the throat. Cf. Shake- 
speare, T. and C i. 3. 174 : 

" to cough and spit. 
And, with a palsy-fumbling on his gorget, 
Shake in and out the rivet." 



CANTO V. 217 

346. bootless aid! The ist ed. has " In vain — in vain !" 
348. Shriven. Absolved after confession. Cf. shrift in iii. 82 above 
366. The death-pang^ s o'er. The ist ed. has "'tis o'er, 'tis o'er ! " 
371. Beaver. Tlie movable mouthpiece of the helmet. Cf. Hamlet, 
i. 2. 230: "he wore his beaver up;" 2 Hen. IV. iv. I. 120: " tlieir 
beavers down," etc. For did he not, some eds. have "he did not." 
400. Me lists. See on ii. 141 above. 
411. Influence. See on i. 177 above. 
413. For pride, etc. See on i. 179 above. 
430. Dight. See on i. 42 above. 

441. Needs not. It needs not. See on 49 above. 

442. 'T^oixt. For the repetition, cf. 242 above. 

456. Wraith. " The spectral apparition of a Hving person " (Scott). 

460. Ileartilie. We should expect " courtesie " in the rhyming word ; 
but cf. iii. 189, 194 above. 

474. His foenian's epitaph. " Deloraine's respect for his enemv is 
in the best spirit of chivalry. Compare Prince Hal's epitaph on Hot- 
spur, I He7iry IV. v. 4. '^']. Froissart's account of the behavior of 
the Earl of Montfort over the dead body of Charles de Blois at the 
battle of Auray is another parallel : ' All the knights then present 
accompanied him to the spot where he was lying apart from the others, 
covered by a shield, which he ordered to be taken away, and looked at 
him very sorrowfully. After having paused a while, he exclaimed, 
"Ah, my lord Charles, sweet cousin, how much mischief has happened 
to Brittany from your having supported by arms your pretensions. 
God help me, I am truly unhappy at finding you in this situation, 
but at present this cannot be amended." Upon which he burst into 
tears'" (M.). 

481. A thousand mark. Good old English. Cf. Rich. II. ii. 2. 91 : 
" Bid her send me presently a thousand pound," etc. See Matzner, vol. 
i. pp. 230, 240. 

482. It was long of thee. Also good English. Cf. Coriolanus, v. 4. 
31 : " all this is long of you," etc. See Wb. 

487. Rest thee God! See on introd. 50 above. Here M. retains 
Scott's pointing, which is the only proper one. 

490. Whose zvord, etc. Scott quotes Drayton, Polyolbion, song 13 : 

" The lands tliat over Ouse to Berwick forth do bear 
Have for their blazon had, the snaffle, spur and spear." 

491. The best to follo^a gear. ^[. quotes The Fray of Si/port in the 
Border Minstrelsy : 

" Doughty Dan o' the Houlet Hirst, 
Thow was aye gude at a birst ; 
Glide wi' a bow, and better \vi' a speir. 
The bauldest Marchman that e'er follow'd gear." 

494. Cheer the dark bloodhound, etc. " The pursuit of Border marau- 
ders was followed by the injured party and his friends with blood- 
hounds and bugle-horn, and was called the hot-trod. He was entitled, 
if his dog could trace the scent, to follow the invaders into the opposite 
kingdom ; a privilege which often occasioned bloodshed. In addition 



2i8 NOTES. 

to what has been said of the bloodhound, I may add, that the breed 
was kept up by the Buccleuch family on their Border estates till within 
the i8th centurv. A person was alive in the memory of man, who re- 
membered a bloodhound being kept at Eldinhope, in Ettrick Forest, 
for whose maintenance the tenant had an allowance of meal. At that 
time the sheep were always watched at night. Upon one occasion, 
when the duty had fallen on the narrator, then a lad, he became ex- 
hausted with fatigue, and fell asleep upon a bank, near sun-rising. 
Suddenly he was awakened by the tread of horses, and saw five men, 
well mounted and armed, ride briskly over the edge of the hill. They 
stopped and looked at the flock; but the day was too far broken to 
admit the chance of their carrying any of them off. One of them, in 
spite, leaped from his horse, and coming to the shepherd, seized him 
by the belt he wore round his waist ; and, setting his foot upon his 
body, pulled it till it broke, and carried it away with him. They rode 
off at the gallop ; and the shepherd giving the alarm, the bloodhound 
was turned loose and the people in the neighborhood alarmed. The 
marauders, however, escaped, notwithstanding a sharp pursuit. This 
circumstance serves to shew how very long the license of the Borderers 
continued in some degree to manifest itself " (Scott). 

496. / V/ give, etc. The Critical Rcviezv remarks : " The style of the 
old romancers has been very successfully imitated in the whole of this 
scene ; and the speech of Deloraine, who, roused from his bed of sick- 
ness, rushes into the lists and apostrophizes his fallen enemy, brought 
to our recollection, as well from the peculiar turn of expression in its 
commencement as in the tone of sentiments which it conveys, some of 
the funebres orationes of the Morte d' Arthur.'''' 

499. Boiviiiiig. Making ready to go. See on iii. 392 above. 

506. Stole. The ecclesiastical scarf. Cf. vi. 516 below. 

512. Holme Coltravie's lofty nave. The church of Holme Coltrame 
(or Cultram), a parish in Cumberland. Cf. note on ii. 138 above. 

527. Poor and thankless soil. The Scottish Border. Cf. p- 144 above. 

535. Misprized. Undervalued, slighted. Cf. Shakespeare,^^. Y. L. 
1. 2. 192 : " your reputation shall not therefore be misprized ; " T. and 
C. iv. 5. 74 :' 

" 'T is done like Hector ; but securely done, 
A little proudly, and great deal misprizing 
The knight oppos'd," etc 



CANTO SIXTH. 

In a letter to Miss Seward, Scott says in reply to a criticism of hers : 
"The Sixth Canto is altogether redundant; for the poem should cer- 
tainly have closed with the union of the lovers, wdien the interest, if 
any, was at an end. But what could I do ? I had my book and my 
page still on my hands, and must get rid of them at all events. _ Man- 
age them as I'would, their catastrophe must have been insufficient to 



CANTO VI. 219 

occupy an entire canto ; so I was fain to eke it out with the songs of the 
minstrels." 

On this letter M. comments thus : " I have already argued [see p. 
142 above] that the last canto is no more redundant than the first ; 
that it is a necessary part of the scheme of the poem, essential to carry- 
ing it out with the proportion assigned to the supernatural element at 
the beginning. But if Scott himself said that it was redundant, surely 
he must have known best.'' The answer to this is, that we must not 
attach too much importance to a writer's half-serious criticism of his 
own work, when he is called upon to defend it, in answer to the objec- 
tions of so pertinacious a lady as the good Miss Seward, Scott at 
least must have been of a different opinion about the Sixth Canto 
when he wrote it, and we must take the work as it stands, not as seen 
by the author himself through the colored medium of a casual passing 
mood. 

" George Ellis, the editor of Specimens of Early English Poetry and 
Metrical Romances, one of the most learned of Scott's contemporaries 
in mediaeval poetry and romance, 'entertained some doubts about the 
propriety of dwelling so long on the minstrel songs in the last canto,' 
but this was because he was not aware of any 'ancient authority for such 
a practice.' To the canto on its own merits he did not object. It is to be 
remarked that, although the songs are episodical as regards the action 
of the poem, they are closely interwoven with the sentiment. The sub- 
jects of them are such as would naturally occur at the close of a tale in 
which three of the moving powers are love, magic, and supernatural 
agency. The first is a love ballad, a congratulation of the happy lovers, 
and serves to dismiss them gracefully from the stage : the last two put 
the reader in tune for the wonders of the final incident." 

I. Breathes there the mafi, etc. M. remarks that two or three small 
coincidences, in idea and diction, seem to show that certain lines from 
Rogers's Pleasures of Memory (near middle of Part II.) were in Scott's 
mind when he wrote these famous patriotic stanzas : — 

" And as the sparks of social love expand, 
As the lieart opens in a foreign land, 
And with a brother's warmth, a brother's smile, 
The stranger greets each native of his isle. 

Above, below, aerial murmurs swell, 

From hanging wood, brown heath, and bushy dell. 

A blithe and blooming Forester explored 
Those loftier scenes Salvator's soul adored ; 
The rocky pass half-hung with shaggy wood, 
And the cleft oak flung boldly o'er the flood." 

4. Whose heart, etc. Cf. Luke, xxiv. 32. 

26. Seems. It seems. See on iii. 149 above. 

30, By Yarrow's stream, etc. " Scott proved the genuineness of this 
sentiment in a very touching way. When he was on a cruise in the 
Mediterranean, undertaken with the hope of recruiting his shattered 
health, and felt that his end could not long be delayed, he hurried 
across Europe that he might draw his last breath at home. This was 



2 20 A'OTES. 

his last object of interest ; on the journey down from London he lay in 
the carriage in a kind of stupor till his beloved Borderland was reached. 
Lockhart says : ' As we descended the vale of the Gala he began to 
gaze about him, and by degrees it was obvious that he was recognizing 
the features of that familiar landscape. Presently he murmured a 
name or two — Gala JVafer, surely, Biick/iol/n, Torwoodlce. As we 
rounded the hill at Ladhofe, and the outline of the Eildons burst on 
him, he became greatly excited, and when turning himself on the couch 
his eye caught at length his own towers, at the distance of a mile, he 
sprang up with a cry of delight ' " (M.). 

We follow the reading of the early eds., which we do not believe 
Scott altered subsequently. All the more recent eds. have " By Yar- 
row's streams," etc. 

34. Still lay my head, etc. This line was not in the ist ed. 

41. Alike for feast and fight prepared, etc. Cf. the- description of 
Coeur -de-Lion in Praed's Troubadour : 

" So fiddling liere, and fighting there, 
And murdering time and time, 
With sturdy limb, and listless air, 
And gauntleted hand, and jewelled hair, 

Half monarch, half buffoon. 
He turned away from feast to fray. 
From quarrelling to quaffing,"' etc. 

50. Me lists. See on ii. 141 above. 

54. Owches. Jewels ; otherwise spelt nowches or nouches, which 
seems to be the original form. See Skeat. Cf. adder, auger, orange, 
and other words that have lost an initial n. 

56. Kirtles. See on ii. 299 above. Miniver = ermine. Cf. 78 below. 

68. She wroiight not, etc. Scott remarks : " Popular belief, though 
contrary to the doctrines of the Church, made a favorable distinction 
betwixt magicians and necromancers, or wizards ; the former were 
supposed to command the evil spirits, and the latter to serve, or at 
least to be in league and compact with, those enemies of mankind. The 
arts of subjecting the demons were manifold ; sometimes the fiends 
were actually swindled by the magicians, as in the case of the bargain 
betwixt one of their number and the poet Virgil. The classical reader 
will doubtless be curious to peruse this anecdote : 

" ' Virgilius was at scole at Tolenton, where he stodyed dylygently, for 
he was of great understandynge. Upon a tyme, the scolers had lycense 
to go to play and sporte them in the fyldes, after the usance of the old 
tyme. And there was also Virgilius therbye, also walkynge among the 
hylles alle about. It fortuned he spyed a great hole in the syde of a 
great hyll, wherein he went so depe, that he culd not see no more lyght ; 
and than he went a lytell farther therein, and than he saw some lyght 
agayne, and than he went fourth streyghte, and within a lytell wyle 
after he harde a voyce that called, " Virgilius ! Virgilius ! " and looked 
aboute, and he colde nat see no body. Than sayd he (i. e. the voice), 
" Virgilius, see ye not the lytyll borde lying bysyde you there marked 
with that word ? " Than answered Virgilius, " I see that borde well 
anough." The voyce said, " Doo awaye that borde, and lette me out 



CANTO VI. 221 

there atte." Than answered Virgilius to the voice that was under the 
lytell borde, and sayd, " Who art thou that callest me so ? " Than an- 
swered the devyll, " I am a devyll conjured out of the bodye of a cer- 
teyne man, and banysshed here tyll the day of judgmend, without that 
I be delyvered by the handes of men. Thus, VirgiHus, I pray the, 
delyver me out of this payn, and I shall shewe unto the many bokes of 
negromancye, and how thou shalt come by it lyghtly, and know the 
practyse therein, that no man in the scyence of negromancye shall 
passe the. And moreover, I shall shewe and enforme the so, that thou 
shalt have alle thy desyre, whereby methinke it is a great gyfte for so 
lytyll a doyng. For ye may also thus all your power frendys helpe, 
and make ryche your enemyes." Thorough that great ])romyse was 
Virgilius tempted ; he badde the fynd show the bokes to hym, that he 
might have and occupy them at his wyll ; and so the fynde shewed him. 
And than Virgilius pulled open a borde, and there was a lytell hole, 
and thereat wrang the devyll out like a yell, and cam and stode before 
Virgilius lyke a bygge man ; whereof Virgilius was astonied and mar- 
veyled greatly thereof, that so great a man niyght come out at so lytyll 
a hole. Than sayd Virgilius, " Shulde ye well passe into the hole that 
ye cam out of?" "Yea, I shall well," said the devyl. " I holde the 
best plegge that I have, that ye shall not do it." " Well," sayd the 
devyll, " thereto I consent." And than the devyll wrange himselfe 
into the lytyll hole ageyne ; and as he was therein, Virgilius kyvered 
the hole ageyne with the borde close, and so was the devyll begyled, 
and myght nat there come out agen, but abydeth shytte styll therein. 
Than called the devyll dredefully to Virgilius, and said, " What have 
ye done, Virgilius ? " Virgilius answered, " Abyde there styll to your 
day appoynted ; " and fro thens forth abydeth he there. And so Vir- 
gilius became very connynge in the practyse of the black scyence.' 

"This story may remind the reader of the Arabian tale of the Fish- 
erman and the imprisoned Genie ; and it is more than probable that 
many of the marvels narrated in the life of Virgil are of Oriental ex- 
traction. Among such I am disposed to reckon the following whim- 
sical account of the foundation of Naples, containing a curious theory 
concerning the origin of the earthquakes with which it is afflicted. 
Virgil, who was a person of gallantry, had, it seems, carried off the 
daughter of a certain Soldan, and was anxious to secure his prize. 

" ' Than he thought in his mynde how he myghte marye hyr, and 
thought in his mynde to founde in the middes of the see a fayer towne, 
with great landes belongynge to it ; and so he did by his cunnynge, and 
called it Napells. And the fandacyon of it was of egges, and in that 
town of Napells he made a tower with iiii corners, and in the toppe he 
set an apell upon an yron yarde, and no man culde pull away that apell 
without he brake it; and thoroughe that yren set he a bolte, and in that 
bolte set he a egge. And he henge the apell by the stauke upon a 
cheyne, and so hangeth it still. And when the egge styrreth, so shulde 
the towne of Napells quake ; and whan the egge brake, than shulde 
the towne sinke. Whan he had made an ende, he lette call it Napells.' 
This appears to have been an article of current belief during the mid- 
dle ages, as appears from the statutes of the order Du Saint Esprit au 



22 2 NOTES. 

droit desir, instituted in 1352. A chapter of the knights is appointed 
to be held annually at the Castle of the Enchanted Egg, near the grotto 
of Virgil (Montfaucon, vol. ii. p. 329)." 

78. Guarded. Edged, trimmed. Cf. Shakespeare, M. of V. ii, 2. 165: 
"Give him a livery more guarded than his fellows';" Much Ado, v. i. 
288 : " The body of your discourse is sometime guarded with fragments, 
and the guards are but slightly basted on neither." The trimming 
guarded (protected) the cloth from wear. 

79. A merlin. " A merlin, or sparrow-hawk, was actually carried by 
ladies of rank, as a falcon was, in time of peace, the constant attendant 
of a knight or baron. See Latham On Falconry. Godscroft relates, 
that when Mary of Lorraine was regent, she pressed the Earl of Angus 
to admit a royal garrison into his Castle of Tantallon. To this he re- 
turned no direct answer; but, as if apostrophizing a goss-hawk, which 
sat on his wrist, and which he was feeding during the Queen's speech, 
he exclaimed, 'The devil 's in this greedy glede, she will never be full ' 
(Hume's History of the House of Doiiglas, 1743, vol. ii p. 131). Barclay 
complains of the common and indecent practice of bringing hawks and 
hounds into churches" (Scott). 

84. The gorgeous festival. M. remarks : "Scott's description of the 
feast differs from the style of the metrical romances which he imitated 
chiefly in being more select in its particulars. The ancient ' minstrel ' 
generally put on the board every animal known to him. Hence the 
courtly Chaucer passes over such details as vulgar : 

* I wol nat telleii of her strange sewes, 
Ne of her swannes, ne of her heronsewes.' " 

89. Heroji-sheiv. Young heron. 

90. Peacock's gilded train. "The peacock, it is well known, was con- 
sidered, during the times of chivalry, not merely as an exquisite deli- 
cacy, but as a dish of peculiar solemnity. After being roasted, it was 
again decorated with its plumage, and a sponge, dipped in lighted 
spirits of wine, was placed in its bill. When it was introduced on days 
of grand festival, it was the signal for the adventurous knights to take 
upon them vows to do some deed of chivalry, 'before the peacock and 
the ladies'" (Scott). 

91. The boa7--head. Scott says: "The boar's head was also a usual 
dish of feudal splendor. In Scotland it was sometimes surrounded 
with little banners, displaying the colors and achievements of the baron 
at whose board it was served (Pinkerton's History, vol. i. p. 432)." 

Garnished brave. That is, bravely, or finely ; the original sense of 
the word. Cf. the Scottish braw. 

92. From Saint Mary's wave. " There are often flights of swans upon 
St. Mary's Lake, at the head of the river Yarrow " (Scott). Cf. Words- 
worth's Yarrow Visited: 

" The swan on still Saint Mary's lake 
Floats double, swan and shadow." 

98. Shalm. More commonly spelt shazvm ; an ancient wind-instru- 
ment, resembling the clarionet. Cf. F. Q. i. 12. 13: "With shaumes, 
and trompets, and with Clarions sweet." 



CANTO VL 223 

The psaltery was a kind of harp. Cf. Psalms^ xxxiii. 2, Ivii. 8, Ixxi. 
22, etc. 

103. Hooded hazvks. The hawks were hooded till let fly at the game. 
The bells hung round their necks were supposed to frighten the birds 
hawked at. Cf. Shakespeare, A\ ^Z. 511: "With trembling fear, as 
fowl hear falcons' bells," etc. 

109. Savers. Servants who served up the dishes. Cf. Barclay, Eel. ii. : 

" Slow be the sewers in serving in alway, 
But swift be they after, in taking meat away; " 

?»farston. Fawn, ii. i : " Here the sewer has friended a country gentle- 
m.in with a sweet green goose," etc. 

120. Stout Hujithill. Scott says : " The Rutherfords of Hunthill were 
an ancient race of Border Lairds, whose names occur in history, some- 
times as defending the frontier against the English, sometimes as dis- 
turbing the peace of their own country. Dickon Draw-the-sword was 
son to the ancient warrior, called in tradition the Cock of Hunthill, 
remarkable for leading into battle nine sons, gallant warriors, all sons 
of the aged champion. Mr. Rutherford, late of New York, in a letter 
to the editor, soon after these songs were first published, quoted, when 
upwards of eighty years old, a ballad apparently the same with the 
Raid of the Reidsqnare, but which apparently is lost, except the follow- 
ing lines : — 

' Bauld Rutherfurd he was fu' stout, 
With all his nine sons him about, 
He brought the lads of Jedbrught out, 
And bauldly fought that day.' " 

Scott's mother was a Rutherford. 

123. Saye. Say, assertion. There is no good reason for the peculiar 
spelling. 

1 28. Bit his gloz'e. "To bite the thumb, or the glove, seems not to 
have been considered, upon the Border, as a gesture of contempt, 
though so used by Shakespeare, but as a pledge of mortal revenge. It 
is yet remembered, that a young gentleman of Teviotdale, on the morn- 
ing after a hard drinking-bout, observed that he had bitten his glove. 
He instantly demanded of his companion, with whom he had quar- 
relled? And, learning that he had had words with one of the party, 
insisted on instant satisfaction, asserting, that though he remembered 
nothing of the dispute, yet he was sure he never would have bit his 
glove unless he had received some unpardonable insult. He fell in the 
duel, which was fought near Selkirk, in 1721 " (Scott). The reference 
to Shakespeare is to the first scene of R. and J. 

132. Lyine-dog. A hound lead by a leavi, or band. Cf. F. Q. v. 2. 
25: "But Talus, that could like a lime-hound wind her;" and Har- 
rington, Orlando Furioso, xli. 30 : 

" His cosin had a I^yme hound argent bright, 
His Lyme laid on his back, he couching down." 

The lym of Lear, iii. 6. 72 (" Hound or spaniel, brach or lym"), where 
the word is a conjectural emendation for the "Hym" of the folios, 
is the same animal. 



2 24 A'OTES. 

136. A Cologne blade. Such as the German Conrad might have had. 
Cf. the English ballad of The Battle of Otterhoiirne : 

" The Percy and the Douglas mette, 

That ether of other was fayne : 
They schapped together whyll that they sweette, 

With swords of fine Collayne, 
Tyll the bloode from their bassonets ran, 

As the brooke doth in the rayne." 

Here " Collayne " = Cologne steel. 

142. Selle. Seat; commonly = saddle {Yx. selle). 

144. Arthur Fire-the-Braes. " The person l)earing this redoubtable 
nam de guerre was an Elliot, and resided at Thorleshope, in Liddes- 
dale. He occurs in the list of Border riders, in 1597 " (Scott). 

146. Quit. Requite, repay. Cf. Hamlet, v. 2. 68 : " To quit him with 
this arm," etc. 

154. Since old Buccleuch, tic. "A tradition preserved by Scott of 
Satchells, who published, in 1688, A true History of the Right Honourable 
name of Scott, g\vts the following romantic origin of that name. Two 
brethren, natives of Galloway, having been banished from that country 
for a riot, or insurrection, came to Rankleburn, in Ettrick Forest, where 
the keeper, whose name was Brydone, received them joyfully, on ac- 
count of their skill in winding the horn, and in the other mysteries of 
the chase. Kenneth MacAlpin, then King of Scotland, came soon 
after to hunt in the royal forest, and pursued a buck from Ettrick- 
heuch to the glen now called Buckcleuch, about two miles above the 
junction of Rankleburn with the river Ettrick. Here the stag stood at 
bay ; and the king and his attendants, who followed on horseback, 
were thrown out by the steepness of the hill and the morass. John, 
one of the brethren from Galloway, had followed the chase on foot ; 
and now coming in, seized the buck by the horns, and, being a man of 
great strength and activity, threw hiin on his back, and ran with his 
burden about a mile up the steep hill, to a place called Cracra-Cross, 
where Kenneth had halted, and laid the buck at the sovereign's feet.^ 

' The deer being curee'd in that place. 

At his Majesty's demand, 
Then John of Galloway ran apace, 

And fetched water to his hrnd. 
The King did wash into a dish, 

And Galloway John he wot ; 
He said, " Thy name now after this 

Shall ever be called John Scott. 

* " The forest and the deer therein, 
We connnit to thy liand ; 
For thou shalt sure the ranger be, 
If thou obey command ; 

^ Froissart relates, that a knight of the household of the Comte de Foix exhibited a 
similar feat of strength. The hall-fire had waxed low, and wood was wanted to mend 
it. The knight went down to the court-yard, where stood an ass laden with fagots, 
seized on the animal and burden, and, carrying him up to the hall on his shoulders, 
tumbled liim into tlie cliimney with his heels uppermost : a humane pleasantry, much 
applauded by the Count and all the spectators. 



CANTO VL 225 

And for the buck thou stoutly brought 

To us up that steep heuch, 
Thy designation ever shall 

Be John Scott in Buckscleuch." 

' In Scotland no Buckcleuch was then, 
Before the buck in the cleuch was slain ; 
Night's meni at first they did appear, 
Because moon and stars to their arms they bear. 
Their crest, supporters, and hunting-horn, 
Shews their beginning from hunting came ; 
Their name, and stile, the book doth say, 
John gained them both into one day ' 

(Watt's Bellendeti). 

" The Buccleuch arms have been altered, and now allude less point- 
edly to this hunting, whether real or fabulous. The family now bear 
Or, upon a bend azure, a mullet betwixt two crescents of the field ; ni 
addition to which they formerly bore in the field a hunting-horn. The 
supporters, now two ladies, were formerly a hound and buck, or, ac- 
cording to the old terms, a hart of leash and a hart of greece. The family 
of Scott of Howpaslev and Thirlestaine long retained the bugle-horn ; 
they also carried a beiit bow and arrow in the sinister cantle, perhaps 
as a difference. It is said the motto was. Best riding by moonlight, 
in allusion to the crescents on the shield, and perhaps to the habits of 
those who bore it. The motto now given is A?no, applying to the 
female supporters" (Scott). 

157. Remembered hi?n. For the old reflexive use, cf. Shakespeare, 
T. N. v. i. 286 : 

" And yet, alas ! now I remember me, 
They say, poor gentleman, he 's much distract." 

For Tinlinn^s yew, cf. iv. 275 above. 

162. Solway strife. In 1542, at Solway Moss, when a large Scotch 
army is said to have fled on being charged by some English Borderers. 

172. Spurned. Kicked. See on v. 53 above. 

174. Riot and clamor wild began. The Critical Review, 1805, com- 
ments on this part of the poem as follows : " The appearance and 

1 " Minions of the moon," as Falstaff would have said. The vocation pursued by our 
ancient Borderers may be justified on the authority of the most polished of the ancient 
nations: " For the Grecians in old time, and such barbarians as in the continent lived 
neere unto the sea, or else inhabited the islands, after once they began to crosse over 
one to another in ships, became theeves, and went abroad under the conduct of their 
more puissant men, both to enrich themselves, and to fetch in mamtenance for the 
weak; and falling upon towns unfortified, or scatterlngly inhabited, rifled them, and 
made this the best means of thear living; being a mattei;at that time no where m dis- 
grace, but rather carrying with it something of glory. This is manifest by some that 
dwell upon the continent, amongst whom, so it be performed nobly, it is still esteemed 
as an ornament. The same is also proved by some of the ancient poets, who introduced 
men questioning of such as sail by, on all coasts alike, whether they be theeves or not ; 
as a thyng nevther scorned by sucii as were asked, nor upbraided by those who were 
desirous to know. They also robbed one another, within tlie mam land ; and much of 
Greece useth that old custome, as the Locrians, the Acarna>tians, and those of the 
continent m that quarter, unto this dav. Moreover, the fashion of wearing iron remain- 
eth yet with the people of that continent, from their old trade of theevmg (Hobbes 
Thncydides-, p. 4- Lond.). 

15 



226 NOTES. 

dress of the company assembled in the chapel, and the description of 
the subsequent feast, in which the hounds and hawks are not the least 
important personages of the drama, are again happy imitations of those 
authors from whose rich but unjDolished ore Mr. Scott has wrought 
much of his most exquisite imagery and description. A society, such 
as that assembled in Branxholm Castle, inflamed with national preju- 
dices and heated with wine, seems to have contained in itself sufficient 
seeds of spontaneous disorder ; but the goblin page is well introduced, 
as applying a torch to this mass of combustibles. Quarrels, highlv 
characteristic of Bcjrder manners, both in their cause and the manner in 
which they are supported, ensue, as well among the lordly guests, as the 
yeomen assembled in the buttery." 

176. Darkling-. Dark ; a poetical word, used both as an adjective 
and as an adverb. Cf. Lear, i. 4. 227 : " So out went the candle and 
we were left darkling;" Lady of the Lake, iv. 283: " For darkling was 
the battle tried," etc. 

181. Albert Grccme. "John Grahame, second son of Malice, Earl of 
Motiteith, commonly sirnamed John with the Bright Sword, upon some 
displeasure risen against him at court, retired with many of his clan 
and kindred into the English Borders, in the reign of King Henry the 
Fourth, where they seated themselves ; and many of their posterity 
have continued there ever since. Mr. Sandford, speaking of them, 
says (which indeed was applicable to most of the Borderers on both 
sides): 'They were all stark moss-troopers, and arrant thieves: Both 
to England and Scotland outlawed; yet sometimes connived at, because 
they gave intelligence forth of Scotland, and would raise 400 horse at 
any time upon a raid of the English into Scotland. A saying is re- 
corded of a mother to her son, (which is now become proverbial,) Ride, 
Roivlcy, hough 's z' the pot : that is, the last piece of beef was in the pot, 
and therefore it was high time for him to go and fetch more ' [LListory 
of Ciiniberlaiid, introd.). 

" The residence of the Graemes being chiefly in the Debateable Land, 
so called because it was claimed l)y both kingdoms, their depredations 
extended both to England and Scotland, with impunity ; for as both 
wardens accounted them the proper subjects of their own prince, neither 
inclined to demand reparation for their excesses from the opposite 
officers, which would have been an acknowledgment of his jurisdiction 
over them. See a long correspondence on this subject betwixt Lord 
Dacre and the English Privy Council, in introduction to LListory of 
Ctinibcrlaiid. The Debateable Land was finally divided betwixt Eng- 
land and Scotland, bv commissioners appointed by both nations " 
(Scott). 

190. LLis si/nple soi/g,tic. Jeffrey remarks : " It is the author's object, 
in these songs, to exemplify the difTerent styles of ballad narrative which 
prevailed in this island at different periods, or in different conditions of 
society. The first (Albert's) is conducted upon the rude and simple 
model of the old Border ditties, and produces its effect by the direct 
and concise narrative of a tragical occurrence." 

192. 77ie sun shines fair, etc. Scott says : " This burden is adopted, 
with some alteration, from an old Scottish song, beginning thus ; 



CANTO VI. 227 

' She lean'd her back against a thorn, 
The sun shines fair on Carlisle wa' : 
And there she has her young babe born, 
And the lyon shall be lord of a'.' '" 

215. The cross divine. The cross of the Crusaders. 

229. IVie gentle Surrey. " The gallant and unfortiuiate Henry How- 
ard, Earl of Surrey, was unquestionably the most accomplished cavalier 
of his time ; and his sonnets display beauties which would do honor to 
a more polished age. He was beheaded on Tower-hill in 1546; a vic- 
tim to the mean jealousy of Henry VHL, who could not bear so brilliant 
a character near his throne. 

"The song of the supposed bard is founded on an incident said to 
have happened to the Earl in his travels. Cornelius Agrippa, the 
celebrated alchemist, shewed him, in a looking-glass, the lovely Ger- 
aldine, to whose service he had devoted his pen and his sword. The 
vision represented her as indisposed, and reclining upon a couch, 
reading her lover's verses by the light of a waxen taper" (Scott). 

237. Even. The early eds. have " evening." 

243. So S7ueet, etc. The ist ed. has " So sweet their harp and voices 
join." 

251. NawortJi's iron towers. Cf. i. 51 above, and see cut on p. 117. 
The castle is still the seat of the Howards, Earls of Carlisle. It has 
been carefully preserved in its ancient condition, though it suffered 
seriously from a fire in 1844. 

257. All-souls' eve. The evening before All-souls' Day, November 

2d. 

Jeffrey remarks : " The second song, that of Fitzraver, the bard of 
the accomplished Surrey, has more of the richness and polish of the 
Italian poetry, and is very beautifully written in a stanza resembling that 
of Spenser." 

263. Hight. Promised ; commonly = called, named. Cf. F. Q. i. 9. 
32 : '' I, that hight Trevisan ; " Childe Harold, i. 3. I : " Childe Harold 
was he hight," etc. 

272. Almagest. Originally the name of an astronomical treatise by 
Ptolemy (a. d. 140), the word became a common noun by being applied 
to other works of the same kind. 

277. Ga7i. See on i. 253 above. 

282. Agra. A city in British India. 

289. Ehurnine. Of ivory. 

308. Saint Clair. " The St. Clairs are of Norman extraction, being 
descended from William de St. Clair, second son of Walderne Compte 
de St. Clair, and Margaret, daughter to Richard Duke of Normandy. 
He was called, for his fair deportment, the Seemly St. Clair ; and, set- 
tling in Scotland during the reign of Malcolm Ceanmore, obtained 
large grants of land in Mid-Lothian. These domains were increased 
by the liberality of succeeding monarchs to the descendants of the 
family, and comprehended the baronies of Rosline, Pent! and. Cows- 
land, Cardaine, and several others. It is said a large addition was ob- 
tained from Robert Bruce, on the following occasion. The king, in 
following the chase upon Pentland-hills, had often started a ' v.diite 



2 28 NOTES. 

faimch deer,' which had always escaped from his hounds; and he asked 
the nobles, who were assembled around him, whether any of them had 
dogs which they thought might be more successful. No courtier 
would affirm that his hounds were fleeter than those of the king, 
until Sir William St. Clair of Rosline unceremoniously said, he would 
wager his head that his two favorite dogs. Help and Hold, would kill 
the deer before she could cross the March-burn. The king instantly 
caught at his unwary offer, and betted the forest of Pentland-moor 
against the life of Sir William St. Clair. All the hounds were tied up, 
except a few ratches, or slow-hounds, to put up the deer; while Sir 
William St. Clair, posting himself in the best situation for slipping his 
dogs, prayed devoutly to Christ, the blessed Virgin, and St. Katherine. 
The deer was shortly after roused, and the hounds slipped ; Sir William 
following on a gallant steed, to cheer his dogs. The hind, however, 
reached the middle of the brook, upon which the hunter threw himself 
from his horse in despair. At this critical moment, however, Hold 
stopped her in the brook ; and Help, coming up, turned her back, and 
killed her on Sir William's side. The king descended from the hill, 
■embraced Sir William, and bestowed on him the lands of Kirkton, 
Logan-house, Earncraig, etc., in free forestrie. Sir William, in ac- 
knowledgment of St. Katherine's intercession, built the chapel of St. 
Katherine in the Hopes, the churchyard of which is still to be seen. 
The hill, from which Robert Bruce beheld this memorable chase, is still 
called the King's Hill ; and the place where Sir William hunted, is 
called the Knight's Field. ^ {MS. History of the Family of Si. Claii', by 
Richard Augustin Hay, Canon of St. Genevieve). 

"This adventurous huntsman married Elizabeth, daughter of Malice 
Spar, Earl of Orkney and Stratherne, in whose right their son Henry 
was, in 1379, created Earl of Orkney, by Haco, king of Norway. His 
title was recognized by the Kings of Scotland, and remained with his 
successors until it was annexed to the crown, in 147 1, by act of Parlia- 
ment. In exchange for this earldom, the castle and domains of Ravens- 
craig, or Ravensheuch, were conferred on William Saintclair, Earl of 
Caithness " (Scott). See on 358 below. 

315. Fair Kirkwall. Scott says : " The Castle of Kirkwall was 
built by the St. Clairs, while Earls of Orkney. It was dismantled by 
the Earl of Caithness about 1615, having been garrisoned against the 
government by Robert Stewart, natural son to the Earl of Orkney. 

1 The tomb of Sir William St. Clair, on which he appears sculptured in armor, with 
a greyhound at liis feet, is still to be seen in Roslin chapel. The person who shows it 
always tells the story of his hunting-match, with some addition to Mr. Hay's account ; 
as tliat the Knight of Rosline's fright made him poetical, and that in the last emergency, 
he shouted, 

" Help, Haud, an ye may, 

Or Roslin will lose his head this day." 

If this couplet does him no great honor as a poet, the conclusion of the story does him 
still less credit. He set his foot on the dog, says the narrator, and killed him on the 
spot, saying, he wo\ild never again put his neck in such a risk. As Mr. Hay does not 
mention this circumstance, I hope it is only founded on the couchant posture of the 
hound on the monument. 



CANTO VI. 229 

" Its ruins afforded a sad subject of contemplation to John, Master of 
St. Clair, who, flying from his native country, on account of his share 
in the insurrection 17 15, made some stay at Kirkwall : 

"'I had occasion to entertain myself at Kirkwall with the melan- 
cholia prospect of the ruins of an old castle, the seat of the old Earls of 
Orkney, my ancestors ; and of a more melancholy reflection, of so great 
and noble an estate as the Orkney and Shetland Isles being taken from 
one of them by James the Third, for faultrie, after his brother, Alex- 
ander, Duke of Albany, had married a daughter of my family, and for 
protecting and defending the said Alexander against the King, who 
wished to kill him, as he had done his youngest brother, the Earl of 
Mar; and for which, after the forfaultrie, he gratefully divorced my 
forfaulted ancestor's sister ; though I cannot persuade myself that he 
had any misalliance to plead against a familie in whose veins the blood 
of Robert Bruce ran as fresh as in his own; for their title to the crowne 
was by a daughter of David Bruce, son to Robert ; and our alliance 
was by marrying a grandchild of the same Robert Bruce, and daughter 
to the sister of the same David, out of the familie of Douglass, which 
at that time did not much sullie the blood, more than my ancestor's 
having not long before had the honour of marrying a daughter of 
the King of Denmark's, who was named Florentine, and has left in the 
town of Kirkwall a noble monument of the grandeur of the times, the 
finest church ever I saw entire in Scotland. I then had no small reason 
to think, in that unhappy state, on the many not inconsiderable services 
rendered since to the royal familie, for these many years bygone, on all 
occasions, when they stood most in need of friends, which they have 
thought themselves very often obliged to acknowledge by letters yet 
extant, and in a style more like friends than souveraigns ; our attach- 
ment to them, without any other thanks, having brought upon us con- 
siderable losses, and among others, that of our all in Cromwell's time; 
and left in that condition without the least relief except what we found 
in our own vrrtue. My father was the only man of the Scots nation 
who had courage enough to protest in Parliament against King Wil- 
liam's title to the throne, which was lost, God knows how : and this at 
a time when the losses in the cause of the royall familie, and their usual 
gratitude, had scarce left him bread to maintain a numerous familie of 
eleven children, who had soon after sprung up on him, in spite of all 
which, he had honourably persisted in his principle. I say, these things 
considered, and after being treated as I was, and in that unluckie state, 
when objects appear to men in their true light, as at the hour of death, 
could I be blamed for making some bitter reflections to myself, and 
laughing at the extravagance and unaccountable humour of men, and the 
singularitie of my own case, (an exile for the cause of the Stuart 
family), when I ought to have known, that the greatest crime I, or my 
family, could have committed, was persevering, to my own destruction, 
in serving the royal familv faithfully, though obstinately, after so great 
a share of deiMession, and after they had been pleased to doom me and 
my familie to starve' [MS. Monoirs of John, Master of St. Clair).'" Of 
this castle a mere ivy-covered fragment is now left; but the grand old 
Cathedral, founded in 1138, is still well preserved, and is the chief ob- 
ject of interest in the town. See cut on p. 107 above. 



230 NOTES. 

316. Petttland. The Pentland Firth. 

317. Odin. The chief of the Northern gods, from whose name, also 
spelled IVoden, our Wednesday is derived. Cf . Martnlon, vi. introd. 23 : 
"The boisterous joys of Odin's hall." 

327. The raven'' s food. Cf . Lady of the Lake, iv. 492 : 

" I shout to scare 
Yon raven from his dainty fare ; " 

P. quotes the Song in The Pirate, chap. xv. : 

" From his cliff the eagle sallies, 

Leaves the wolf his darksome valleys ; 
111 the midst the ravens hover, 
Peep tlie wild dogs from the cover, 
Screaming, croaking, baying', yelling, 
Each in his wild accents telling 
Soon we feast on dead and dying, 
Fair-haired Harold's flag is flying." 

328. Kings of the mai)i. " The chiefs of the Vikingr, or Scandina- 
vian pirates, assumed the title of Scekojningr, or Sea-kings. Ships, in 
the inflated language of the Scalds, are often termed the serpents of 
the ocean " (Scott). 

331. The Scald. The Norse bard. 

332. Runic column. Column with Runic, or Norse, inscription. The 
characters of the Northern alphabet were called runes. 

335. Saga. Norse epic or poetic chronicle. Cf. Longfellow, Skeleton 
in Armor: 

" I was a Viking old ! 
My deeds, though manifold, 
No Skald in song has told, 
No Saga taught tliee ! " * 

336. That Sea-Snake, etc. " The Jor?nungandr, or Snake of the Ocean, 
whose folds surround the earth, is one of the wildest fictions of the 
Edda. It was very nearly caught by the god Thor, who went to fish 
for it with a hook baited with a bull's head. In the battle betwixt the 
evil demons and the divinities of Odin, which is to precede the Pagna- 
rockr, or Twilight of the Gods, this Snake is to act a conspicuous part " 
(Scott). 

338. Those dread Af aids. " These were the /'irZ/jr/V/r, or Selectors of 
the Slain, despatched by Odin from Valhalla, to choose those who w-ere 
to die, and to distribute the contest. They are well known to the Eng- 
lish reader as Gray's Fatal Sisters" (Scott). 

340. Of chiefs, etc. Scott says: "The Northern warriors were usu- 
ally entombed with their arms and their other treasures. Thus Angan- 
tyr, before commencing the duel in which he was slain, stipulated, that 
if he fell, his sword Tyrfing should be buried with him. His daughter, 
Hervor, afterwards took it from his tomb. The dialogue which passed 
betwixt her and Angantyr's spirit on this occasion has been often trans- 
lated. The whole history may be found in the Hervarar-Saga. Indeed, 
the ghosts of the Northern warriors were not wont tamely to suffer their 
tombs to be plundered ; and hence the mortal heroes had an additional 
temptation to attempt such adventures ; for they held nothing more 
worthy of their valor than to encounter supernatural beings (Bartho- 
linus I?e causis contemptcv a Danis mortis, lib. i. cap. 2, 9, 10, 13)." 



CANTO VI . 231 

347. RosHn^s boxvers. " The beautiful chapel of Roslin is still in tol- 
erable preservation. It was founded in 1446, by William St. Clair, 
Prince of Orkney, Duke of Oldenburgh, Earl of Caithness and Strath- 
erne, Lord St. Clair, Lord Niddesdale, Lord Admiral of the Scottish 
Seas, Lord Chief Justice of Scotland, Lord Warden of the three 
Marches, Baron of Roslin, Pentland, Pentland-moor, etc.. Knight of 
the Cockle, and of the Garter (as is affirmed), High Chancellor, Chain- 
berlain, and Lieutenant of Scotland. This lofty person, whose titles, 
says Godscroft, might weary a Spaniard, built the castle of Roslin, 
where he resided in princely splendor, and founded the chapel, which 
is in the most rich and florid style of Gothic architecture. Among the 
profuse carving on the pillars and buttresses, the rose is frequently in- 
troduced, in allusion to the name, with which, however, the flower has 
no connexion ; the etymology being Rosslinnhe, the promontory of the 
linn, or water-fall. The chapel is said to appear on fire previous to the 
death of any of his descendants. This superstition, noticed by Slezer 
in his Theatnim Scoticc, and alluded to in the text, is probably of Nor- 
wegian derivation, and may have been imported by the Earls of Orkney 
into their Lothian dominions. The tomb-fires of the north are men- 
tioned in most of the Sagas. 

" The Barons of Roslin were buried in a vault beneath the chapel 
floor. The manner of their interment is thus described by Father Hay 
in the MS. history already quoted. 

" ' Sir William Sinclair, the father, was a leud man. He kept a mil- 
ler's daughter, with whom, it is alleged, he went to Ireland; 3'et I 
think the cause of his retreat was rather occasioned by the Presbyteri- 
ans, who vexed him sadly, because of his religion being Roman Catho- 
lic. His son, Sir William, died during the troubles, and was interred 
in the chapel of Roslin the very same day that the battle of Dunbar 
was fought. When my good-father was buried, his (/. e. Sir William's) 
corpse seemed to be entire at the opening of the cave ; but when they 
came to touch his body, it fell into dust. He was laying in his armour, 
with a red velvet cap on his head, on a flat stone; nothing was spoiled 
except a piece of the white furring that went round the cap, and an- 
swered to the hinder part of the head. All his predecessors were 
buried after the same manner, in their armour ; late Rosline, my good- 
father, was the first that was buried in a coffin, against the sentiments 
of King James the Seventh, who was then in Scotland, and several 
other persons well versed in antiquity, to whom my mother would not 
hearken, thinking it beggarly to be buried after that manner. The great 
expenses she was at in burying her husband, occasioned the sumptuary 
acts which were made in the following parliament ' " (Scott). 

352. O, listen, etc. Jeffrey remarks: " The third song is intended to 
represent that wild style of composition which prevailed among the 
bards of the Northern Continent, somewhat softened and adorned by 
the Minstrel's residence in the South. We prefer it, upon the whole, 
to either of the two former, and shall give it entire to our readers, who 
will probably be struck with the poetical effect of the dramatic form 
into which it is thrown, and of the indirect description by which every- 
thing is most expressively told, without one word of distinct narrative." 



232 NOTES. 

355. Rosabelle. "This was a family name in the house of St. Clair. 
Henry St. Clair, the second of the line, married Rosabelle, fourth 
daughter of the Earl of Stratherne " (Scott). 

358. Castle Ravensheiirh. " A large and strong castle, now ruinous, 
situated betwixt Kirkaldy and Dysart, on a steep crag, washed by the 
Frith of Forth. It was conferred on Sir "William St. Clair as a slight 
compensation for the earldom of Orkney, by a charter of King James 
in., dated in 1471, and is now the projierty of Sir James St. Clair Ers- 
kine, (now Earl of Rosslyn,) representative of the family. It was long 
a principal residence of the Barons of Roslin " (Scott). 

361. Inch. "Isle" (Scott). The word occurs in the names of many 
Scotch islands ; as InchkeitJi, Inch-tna/iotiie, etc. 

365. S^uafhc'd. The ist ed. has "rolled" 

381. // ruddied. The ist ed. has " It reddened." 

383. Hawthornden. Near Roslin, and famous as the residence of the 
poet Drummond. The house stands on a cliff rising sheer from the 
waters of the Esk ; and under it are several small caverns, hewn out 
of the solid rock, which have excited much speculation among anti- 
quarians. Cf. p. 196 above, note on 28. 

389. Deep sacristy, etc. The 1st ed. has "Both vaulted crypt," etc. 

392. Piniiet. Pinnacle. 

401. With candle, with book, and with knell. That is, with full relig- 
ious service. "With bell, book, and candle" is a common phrase, re- 
ferring to the form of exconi/nunication used in the Romish church. In 
this "the bell was tolled, the book of offices for the purpose used, and 
three candles extinguished, with certain ceremonies" (Nares). Cf. 
Maniiio)i, v. 899: " To curse wdth candle, bell, and book," etc. 

402. Bnt the sea-caves, etc. The ist ed. has " But the Kelpie rung 
and the Mermaids sung." 

405. The darkened hall. M. remarks : " The coming on of darkness 
at the approach of an evil spirit is a commonplace in romance. There 
is an example in the ballad of A^ing Henrie in the Border Minstrelsy : 

" ' He 's ta'en him to his hunting ha'. 

For to make burly cheir ; 
When loud the wind was heard to sound. 

And an earthquake rock'd the tloor. 
And darkness cover'd a' the hatl, 

\^'here they sat at their meat ; 
The grey dogs howling left tiieir food 

And crept to Heiirie's feet. 
And louder howl'd the rising wind, 

And biust the fasten' d door; 
And in there came a griesly ghost 

Stood stamping on the floor'" 

429. Levin-brand. Thunderbolt. See on iv. 319 above, and cf. F. Q. 
vii. 7. 30: "And eft his burning levin-brond in hand he tooke." 

442. Gylbin, come. See on ii. 353 above. 

455. The spectre-hound in Man. Scott says : " The ancient castle of 
Peel-town in the Isle of Man, is surrounded by four churches, now ruin- 
ous. Through one of these chapels there was formerly a passage from 
the guard-room of the garrison. This was closed, it is said, upon the 



CANTO VI. 233 

following occasion : ' They say, that an apparition, called, in the Mank- 
ish language, the Mauihe Doog, in the shape of a large black spaniel, 
with curled shaggy hair, was used to haunt Peel-castle ; and has been 
frequently seen in every room, but particularly in the guard-chamber, 
where, as soon as candles were lighted, it came and lay down before 
the fire, in presence of all the soldiers, who, at length, by being so much 
accustomed to the sight of it, lost great part of the terror they were 
seized with at its first appearance. They still, however, retained a cer- 
tain awe, as believing it was an evil spirit, which only waited permis- 
sion to do them hurt ; and, for that reason, forebore swearing, and all 
profane discourse, while in its company. But though they endured the 
shock of such a guest when altogether in a body, none cared to be left 
alone with it. It being the custom, therefore, for one of the soldiers to 
lock the gates of the castle at a certain hour, and carry the keys to the 
captain, to wdiose apartment, as I said before, the way led through the 
church, they agreed among themselves, that whoever was to succeed 
the ensuing night his fellow in this errand, should accompany him that 
went first, and by this means no man would be exposed singly to the 
danger; for I forgot to mention, that the Maiithe Doogw?^.'^ always seen 
to come out from that passage at the close of the day, and return to it 
again as soon as the morning dawned; which made them look on this 
place as its peculiar residence. 

" ' One night a fellow being drunk, and by the strength of his liquor 
rendered more daring than ordinarily, laughed at the simplicity of his 
companions ; and, though it was not his turn to go with the keys, would 
needs take that office upon him, to testify his courage. All the soldiers 
endeavored to dissuade him ; but the more they said, the more reso- 
lute he seemed, and swore that he desired nothing more than that the 
MmitJie Doog would follow him as it had done the others; for he would 
try if it were dog or devil. After having talked in a very reprobate 
manner for some time, he snatched up the keys, and went out of the 
guard-room. In some time after his departure, a great noise was heard, 
but nobody had the boldness to see what occasioned it, till, the adven- 
turer returning, they demanded the knowledge of him; but as loud and 
noisy as he had been at leaving them, he was now become sober and 
silent enough; for he was never heard to speak more; and though all 
the time he lived, which was three days, he was entreated by all who 
came near him, either to speak, or, if he could not do that, to make 
some signs, by which they might understand what had happened to 
him, yet nothing intelligible could be got from him, only that, by the 
distortion of his limbs and features, it might be guessed that he died in 
agonies more than is common in a natural death. 

" 'The Mauihe Dcwgw^s, however, never after seen in the castle, nor 
would any one attempt to go through that passage ; for which reason 
it was closed up, and another way made. This accident happened 
about three score years since ; and I heard it attested by several, but 
especially by an old soldier, who assured me he had seen it oftener 
than he had then hairs on his head' (Waldron's Description of the Isle 
of Man, p. 107)." 

459. With amice wrapped 'iround, etc. Cf. ii. 214 above. 



234 NOTES. 

469. Saint Bride of Douglas. Scott remarks : " This was a favorite 
saint of the house of Douglas, and of the Earl of Angus in particular, 
as we learn from the following passage : ' The Queen-Regent had pro- 
posed to raise a rival noble to the ducal dignity ; and discoursing of her 
purpose with Angus, he answered, " Why not, madam ? we are happy 
that have such a princess, that can know and will acknowledge men's 
services, and is willing to recompense it ; but, by the might of God " 
(this was his oath when he was serious and in anger ; at other times, 
it was by St. Bryde of Douglas), " if he be a Duke, I will be a Drake ! " 
So she desisted from prosecuting of that purpose' {Godscroft,\o\.\\. 
p. 131)." Note the play on duke and duck, and also on the different 
senses of drake. 

475. Sai}it A/odan. A Scotch abbot of the 7th century. Cf. Lady 
of the Lake, ii. 131 : "The harp which erst Saint Modan swayed," etc. 

476. Saint Mary of the Lowes. See on ii. 386 above. 

477. Rood. Cross. See on introd. 80 above. Lisle {V Lsle) is the 
older form of Lille, the name of the well-known French city. 

499. Uneath. Hardly, not easily ; a word often used by Chaucer 
and Spenser. Cf. F. Q. i. 9. 38 : "Or let him die at ease, that liveth 
here uneath; " 2 Hen. VL. ii. 4. 8 : " Uneath may she endure the flinty 
streets " (the only instance of the word in Shakespeare), etc. 

515. Scapular. An ecclesiastical garment consisting of two bands, 
one going down the breast, the other over the shoulders. The original 
scapular was introduced by St. Benedict, in lieu of a heavy cowl for 
the shoulders, designed to carry loads. 

516. Stoles. See on v. 506 above. 

520. Flourished fair., etc. That is, with the name in richly orna- 
mented letters. 

532. Office. Possessive ; the mark of the case being omitted, as 
often in Elizabethan English when a noun ends in s, se, ce, or ge. See 
Abbott, Shakes. Cr. § 471. 

536. Dies ira, etc. The opening lines of the most famous of medi- 
aeval Latin hymns, ascribed to Thomas of Celano (about 1230). Scott's 
version is only a free paraphrase of portions of it. 

558. Close beneath proud Newark's to7ver, etc. Lockhart says : " In 
these charming lines he has embodied what was, at the time he penned 
them, the chief day-dream of Ashestiel. . . . While he was' laboring 
doucement at the Lay' (as in one of his letters he expresses it), during 
the recess of 1804, circumstances rendered it next to certain that the 
small estate of Broadnieadows, situated just over against the ruins of 
Newark, on the northern bank of the Yarrow [see our map], would 
soon be exposed to sale ; and many a time did he ride round it in com- 
pany with Lord and Lady Dalkeith. 

' When summer smiled on sweet Bowhill,' 
surveying the beautiful little domain with wistful eyes, and anticipating 
that 

' There would he suig achievement high 
And circumstance of chivalry, 
And Yarrow, as he flowed along. 
Bear burden to the Minstrel's song.' " 



CANTO VI. 235 

But the success of the Lay led to the negotiations with Mr. Ballantyne 
which resulted in Scott's becoming his partner in business, and invest- 
ing in the concern all the money that was to have been used in the 
purchase of Broadmeadows. 

568. Bmuhill. A seat of the Duke of Buccleuch, just below Newark 
Castle and above the junction of the Yarrow and the Ettrick. Lock- 
hart says : " Bowhill was the favorite residence of Lord and Lady Dal- 
keith (afterwards Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch), at the time when 
the poem was composed ; the ruins of Newark are all but included in 
the park attached to that modern seat of the family ; and Sir Walter 
Scott, no doubt, was influenced in his choice of the locality, by the pre- 
dilection of the charming lady who suggested the subject of his 'Lay' 
for the scenery of the Yarrow — a beautiful walk on whose banks, 
leading from the house to the old castle, is called, in memory of her, 
the Duchess's Walk." 

571. Throstles. Thrushes. Cf. Shakespeare, M. N. D. iii. i. 130: 
"The throstle with his note so true," etc. 

572. And corn was green. The 1st ed. has "And grain waved green." 
Carterhangh is a plain at the confluence of the Ettrick and Yarrow, 
two miles below Newark Castle. The other localities mentioned are 
in the same vicinity. 

582. The MinstreVs song. The Annual Rei^ieiv, 1804, closes its notice 
of the poem thus : " The large quotations we have made from this sin- 
gular poem must have convinced our readers that it abounds equally 
with poetical description and with circumstances curious to the anti- 
quary. These are farther illustrated in copious and very entertaining 
notes : they, as well as the poem, must be particularly interesting to 
those who are connected with Scottish families, or conversant in their 
history. The author has managed the versification of the poem with 
great judgment, and the most happy effect. If he had aimed at the 
grave and stately cadence of the epic, or any of our more regular meas- 
ures, it would have been impossible for him to have brought in such 
names as Watt Tinlinn, Black John., Priesfhaugh, Scrogg, and other 
Scottish names, or to have spoken of the lyke-xvake^ and the slogaii, and 
driving of cattle, which Pope and Gray would have thought as impos- 
sible to introduce into serious poetry as Boileau did the names of 
towns in the campaigns of Louis IV. Mr. Scott has, therefore, very 
judiciously thrown in a great mixture of the familiar, and varied tlie 
measure ; and if it has not the finished harmony which, in such a 
subject, it were in vain to have attempted, it has great ease and spirit, 
and never tires the reader. Indeed we think we see a tendency in the 
public taste to go back to the more varied measures and familiar style 
of our earlier poets ; a natural consequence of having been satiated 
with the regular harmony of Pope and his school, and somewhat 
wearied with the stiffness of lofty poetic language. We now know 
what can be done in that way, and we seek entertainment and variety, 
rather than finished modulation and uniform dignity. We now take 
our leave of this very elegant, spirited, and striking poem." 

Jeffrey, on the other hand, qualifies his praise of the poem as follows : 
" From the various extracts we have given, our readers will be enabled 



236 



NOTES. 



to form a tolerably correct judgment of the poem ; and, if they are 
pleased with those portions of it which have now been exhibited, we 
may venture to assure them that they will not be disappointed by the 
perusal of the whole. The whole night journey of Deloraine — the 
opening of the Wizard's tomb — the march of the English battle — 
and the parley before the walls of the castle, are all executed with the 
same spirit and poetical energy, which we think is conspicuous in the 
specimens we have already extracted, and a great variety of short pas- 
sages occur in every part of the poem, which are still more striking 
and meritorious, though it is impossible to detach them, without in- 
jury, in the form of a quotation. It is but fair to apprize the reader, 
on the other hand, that he will meet with very heavy passages, and 
with a variety of details which are not likely to interest any one but 
a Borderer or an antiquary. We like very well to hear of ' the gallant 
Chief of Otterburne,' or ' the Dark Knight of Liddesdale,' and feel 
the elevating power of great names, when we read of the tribes that 
mustered to the war, ' beneath the crest of old Dunbar and Hepburn's 
mingled banners.' But we really cannot so far sympathize with the 
local partialities of the author, as to feel any glow of patriotism or 
ancient virtue in hearing of the Todrig or yohnston clans, or of Elliots, 
Armstrongs, and Tinlinns ; still less can we relish the introduction of 
Black Jock of At/ielstaiie, Whitslade the Hawk, Arthur Fire-the- Braes, Red 
Roland Forster, or any other of those worthies, who 

' Sought the beeves that made their broth, 
In Scotland and in England both,' 

into a poem which has any pretensions to seriousness or dignity. The 
ancient metrical romance might have admitted these homely personali- 
ties ; but the present age w^ill not endure them ; and Mr. Scott must 
either sacrifice his Border prejudices, or offend all his readers in the 
other parts of the empire." 







ADDENDA. 237 



ADDENDA. 



The Map of Scott-land (p. 242). — The annexed map (copied 
from the one in the " Clarendon Press " ed. of the Lay) shows the chief 
localities mentioned in the poem. They all lie within the limits of 
" Scott-land," or the land of the Scott clan. Alelrose Abbey is just 
outside of the limits of the map to the east, and Hei-jnitage a little 
beyond them to the south. The Scott territory also extends some- 
what farther to the southwest in Eskdale, and to the northeast in 
Tweeddale, than the map indicates. The scale of the map is about 
five miles to the inch. 

Tan-as Moss (i. 217). A desolate marsh in Liddesdale, through 
which a small river takes its course. The stream runs furiously amid 
huge rocks ; whence the popular saying : 

" Was ne'er ane drowned in Tarras, nor yet in doubt.. 
For ere the head can win down, the harns [brains] are out." 

The morass itself is so deep that, according to an old authority, two 
spears tied together would not reach the bottom. It was a noted place 
of refuge for outlaws. 

Horseliehill (i. 280). For this and sundry other localities on which 
no note is given, see the map. 

Soltra and Diinipender Lazu (iii. 390). We assume that the former 
is Soutra Hill (1184 feet high), about fifteen miles southeast from Edin- 
burgh; and that the latter is Dicnpender or Traprain Law, an isolated 
conical hill, some 700 feet high, about four miles east of Haddington, 
from whose top it is said that parts of thirteen counties may be seen. 

Leveji Clans (iii. 415). Clans dwelling on the banks of the Leven, a 
small river in Cumberland, flowing into the Esk. Cf. iv. 411 and v. 511 
below. It must not be confounded with other rivers of the name in 
England and Scotland. So the Tyfte of Tynedale is the English river, 
not the smaller stream in Berwickshire. 

Southern ravage (iv. 35). That is, ravage by the English ; hence the 
use of the capital in Sotither7i, as in 241, 285, 462, etc. below. Most 
eds. print " southern " without regard to the meaning of the word. 

Castle-Ozuer (iv. 126). The remains of a Roman camp on a hill in 
Eskdale. 

Yarrow-clench (iv. 226). The source of the Yarrow, about three 
miles to the southwest of the Loch of the Lowes. 

Woodhonselie (iv. 227). An old estate on the southern slope of the 
Pentland Hills, about ten miles from Edinburgh. It is the scene of 
Scott's ballad of Cadyow Castle. 

The Merse and Lauderdale (iv. 484). The Mcrse (= March) is the 
eastern part of Berwickshire; and L^aiiderdalc the western part, or the 
valley of the Leader as far as it is in Berwickshire. Latnmennore (v. 



238 



NOTES. 



60 below) includes the remainder of the county, or the northern hilly 
portion. These divisions are now almost obsolete, and it is not easy to 
fix their original boundaries exactly. 

Jedzoood's recent sack (iv. 54S). Jedburgh (also known zs> Jedwood, 
Jeduwrth, Jeddart, etc.) was sacked and burnt at least seven times in 
the international wars of that period. The Earl of Surrey, who took 
and destroyed the town in 1523, writes to Henry VIII. of the resistance 
he met there : " I assure your grace that I found the Scots at this time 
the boldest men and the hottest that ever I saw in any nation, and all 
the journey." The proud war-cry of the burghers, " Jeddart 's here !" 
became renowned; and the "Jeddart staff" which they wielded was 
famous and feared as a weapon. 

Our Lady of the Isle (vi. 478). We suppose the reference is to the 
ancient priory dedicated to the Virgin, on St. Mary's Isle at the mouth 
of the Dee, near Kirkcudbright. It was founded, in the reign of 
David I., by Fergus, Lord of Galloway, and afterwards became a 
dependence of Holyrood Abbey. It was a large and rich establish- 
ment in its day, and the prior was a lord of parliament. The *' Isle," 
from the changes in the estuary of the Dee, has now become a penin- 
sula; and the beautiful demesne of the Earl of Selkirk, known as St. 
Mary's Isle, occupies the site of the demolished priory. 

Hair/iead-shaw (vi. 571). On the left bank of the Yarrow, near 
Broadmeadows. 

Blackandrd' s oak (vi. 573). The reference may be to Black-Andrew 
Hill, one of the prominent heights of this part of Selkirkshire. 




INDEX OF WORDS AND PHRASES 
EXPLAINED. 



abbaj^e, 169. 

acton, 184. 

agen, 195. 

Agra, 227- 

Aill (river), 168. 

air (— sand-bank), 212. 

Albert Graeme, 226. 

All-souls' eve, 227. 

alinagest, 227. 

Almayn, 204. 

amice, 179, 234. 

Ancram ford, 20S. 

antique (accent), 212. 

Armstrongs, 194. 

Arthur Fire-the-Braes, 224. 

Arthur's wain, 161. 

arquebus, 189. 

at a word, 187. 

aventayle, 170. 

azure (heraldic), 203. 

baldric, 179, 188. 
bale (= beacon), 192. 
bandelier, 189. 
ban-dog, 160, 188. 
barbican, 166. 
barded, 152, 168. 
Barnabright, 198. 
Barnhill, 167. 
barret-cap, 188. 
bartisan, 206. 
basnet, 166. 
battle (= army), 206. 
beacon-blaze, 192. 
Beattisons, 203. 
beaver (of helmet), 217. 
Bellenden, 204. 
bells (of hawk), 223. 
Belted Will Howard, 199. 
bend (heraldic), 203. 
beshrew, 204. 
best to follow gear, 217. 
Bethune's line, 158. 
better knee, 205. 
Bilboa blade, 216. 
Billhope stag, 199. 



billmen, 205. 
bit his glove, 223. 
Blackandro's oak, 238. 
Black-Andrew Hill, 238. 
Black Lord Archibald's 

battle-laws, 212. 
black-mail, 195. 
Blanche Lion, 208. 
blood of the vine, 183. 
bloodhound, 217. 
Bloody Heart, the, 212. 
boar-head, 222. 
book-bosomed priest, 184. 
bower (= chamber), 146, 

150, 152, 160, 215. 
Bowhill, 235. 
bowne, 195, 218. 
Branksome, 148, 153, 160. 
brave (adverb), 222. 
brook (verb), 210. 
Buccleuch, 147, 204, 224. 
Buccleuch, Lady, 182. 
buff, 216. 
by times (= betimes), 215. 

cairn, 195. 

ciiidle, book, and knell, 232. 

Carlisle, 152. 

Carr, 158. 

Carter (mountain), 180. 

Carterhaugh, 235. 

cast (= pair), 204. 

Castle-Ower, 237. 

changeling, 204. 

cheer (= face), 207. 

Clarence's Plantagenet, 213. 

claymore, 216- 

clerk (= scholar', 158. 

cloth-yard shaft, 204. 

coat (= coat-of-arms), 216. 

Cologne blade, 224. 

confusedly (trisyllable), 192. 

couch (a spear), 183. 

Craik-cross, 160, 204. 

crane (of Cranstoun), 183. 

Cranstoun, 158, 183. 



Crescents and Star, 162. 
cresset, 192. 
culver, 206. 
curfew, 169. 
cushat-dove, 183. 

Dacre, Lord, 200. 

darkUng, 226. 

deft and merrily, 160. 

despiteous, 216. 

Dickon Draw-the-Sword, 

223. 
D/es Irce, 234. 
diffident of, 169. 
dight, 152, 217. 
Dinlay, 203. 
drie, 171. 

Dumpender Law, 195, 237. 
Dundee (Viscount), 196. 
Duuedin, 157, 195. 

Earl Francis, 147, 
Earl Walter, 147. 
earn, 195. 
ebon (noun), 170. 
eburnine, 227. 
echo (accent), 160. 
Eildon Hills, 177. 
Elliots, 194. 
embattled, 147. 
emerald rings, 160. 
emprise, 207. 

falcon (= cannon), 206. 
falls (= befalls), 210. 
Eastern's night, 201. 
fence (= defend), 170. 
fence (= defence), 188, 199, 
flemens-firth, 207. 
flourished fair, 234. 
football-play, 213. 
forav, 162. 
fro (= from), 188. 
frounced, 205. 
furious] ie (spelling), 188. 



240 INDEX OF WORDS AND PHRASES EXPLAINED. 



gain his spurs, 206. 

Galliard, 203. 

Gamescleuch, 201. 

gan, 165, 2i6, 227. 

gauntlet on spear, 206. 

German hackbut-men, 200. 

Gilpin Horner, iSo. 

Gilsland, 206. 

glaive, 205, 207. 

glamour, 184. 

good at need, 165, 178. 

gorget, 216. 

gramarye, 1S7. 

gramercy, 189. 

grisly, 188. 

guarded (= edged), 222. 

hackbuteer, 189. 
hackbut-men, 200. 

hag, 199- , 
Hairhead-shaw, 238. 
Hairibee, 165. 
Halidon, 16S. 
hall (of castle), 146. 
Harden, Wat of, 189, 202. 
harper, the jovial, 211. 
harquebuss, i8g, 208. 
harried, 207. 
Hassendean, 167. 
hastilie (spelling), 180. 
Hawthornden, 232. 
Hazeldean, 167. 
hearse ( =tomb), 212. 
heartilie (spelling), 217. 
Hepburns, 213. 
heriot, 203. 

Hermitage Castle, 182, 215. 
heron-shew, 222. 
higiit, 227. 
him listed, 176. 
Holme Coltrame, 218. 
Holyrood Abbey, 148. 
Home Castle, 182. 
Home, Earls of, 213. 
hooded hawks, 223. 
Horseliehill, 237. 
Howard, Henry, 227. 
Howard, Lord William, 199. 
hov! 1 88. 
Hunthill, 223. 

idlesse, 150. 
imagery, 170. 
impel the rill, 212. 
in sooth, 212. 
inch (= island), 232. 
influence, 161, 217. 
irks, 206. 
iron door, 147. 
iron time, 146. 
Irthing, 205. 

jack (armor), 183, 199. 



Jedwood-axe, 152. 
Jedwood's sack, 23S. 
jennet, 172. 
Johnstones, 194. 
j'orjHimgafidr, 230. 

kale (= broth), 169. 

Kendal archers, 205. 

Kerr, 158, 162. 

King Charles the Good, 148. 

kings of the main, 230. 

Kirkwall, 228- 

kirtle, 180, 18S, 205, 220. 

ladye (spelling), 150. 

Lammermore, 237. 

lamp (eternal), 17S. 

Lauderdale, 237. 

lauds, 169. 

lay spear in rest, 183, 213. 

Leven Clans, 237. 

levin, 205, 232. 

levin-brand, 232. 

Liddesdale, Knight of, 172. 

lion argent, 206. 

Lisle, 234. 

list (impersonal), 176, 217, 

220. 
Hsts (= field), 211. 
litherlie, 182. 
long of, 217- 
lorn (= lost), 165. 
Lowes, Loch of the, 182. 
lurcher (dog), 187. 
lyke-wake, 208. 
lyme-dog, 223. 

make (= do), 208. 
march (= frontier), 16S. 
March-man, 168. 
march-treason pain, 207. 
mark (plural), 217. 
massy, 147, 195- 
IvLiudlin, 189. 
Melrose Abbey, 168, 170, 

172, 173- 
Merlin, 222. 
Merse, the, 237. 
Michael Scott, 174, 176. 
mickle, 20 1- 

minion (= favorite), 212. 
miniver, 220. 
Minto-crags, 167. 
misprized, 218. 
Moat-hill, 166. 
morion, 109. 
morris (dance), 160. 
morsing-horns, 205. 
moss-trooper, 161. 
mot (verb), 187. 
Mount for Branksome ! 193. 
muir, 204. 



Naworth Castle, 152, 200, 

227. 
neck-verse, 165. 
need-fire, 194. 
needs (imjiersonal), 217. 
Newark Castle, 146. 
no whit, 181. 

Oakwood Tower, 203. 

Odin, 230- 

office (possessive), 234. 

on a heap, 184. 

on row, 208. 

oriel, 169. 

Otterburne, 172. 

Our Lady of the Isle, 238. 

Ousenam bowers, 215. 

owches, 220. 

Padua, 158. 

palmer, 179- 

partisan (= halberd), 206. 

passing (= surpassing), 179, 

199. 
peacock (at table), 222. 
j.eel (= tower), 166, 197. 
Penchryst Pen, 192. 
pensils, 208. 
Pentland, 230. 
pinnet, 232. 

prayer (dissyllable), 171. 
pricking (= spurring), 183, 

201, 207. 
Priesthaughswire, 192. 
prime (noun), 165. _ 
plained (= complained), 204. 
port (= music), 216. 
psaltery, 223. 
pursuivant-at-arms, 206. 

quatre-feuille, 172. 
quit (= requite), 224. 

rade (= rode), 181. 
Rangleburn, 204. 
raven's food. 230. 
Ravensheuch Castle, 232. 
reads (= counsels\ 206. 
remembered (reflexive), 225. 
rest (of spear), 183, 213. 
rest him God! i47) 217- 
Riddel, 67. 
risp, 198. 
Roman way, 167. 
rood(= cross), h8, 20S, 234. 
room (= piece of land), 151. 
Rosabelle, 232. 
Roslin Chapel, 231. 
Ruberslaw, 208. 
Runic column, 230. 
rusliy floor, 150. 
Rutherfords, 223. 



INDEX OF WORDS AND PHRASES EXPLAINED. 241 



saga, 230. 

Saint Andrew's cloistered 

hall, 159. 
Saint Barnabriglit, 19S. 
Saint Bride of Douglas, 

234- 
Saint Clair, 227. 
Saint Cuthbert's even, 207. 
Saint David, 170. 
Saint Mary's Isle, 238. 
Saint Mary's Lake, 202, 

222. 

Saint Mary of the Lowes, 

182, 234. 
Saint Michael's night, 165. 
Saint jModan, 234. 
Salamanca's cave, 174. 
salved the splinter, 189. 
saye, 223. 
Scald, 230. 
scapular. 234. 
scathe, 216. 
scaur, 160. 

Scott, Michael, 174, 176. 
Scott of Buccleuch, Walter, 

154- 
Scott of Harden, Walter, 

189, 202. 
Scott of Thirlestane, John, 

201. 
scrogg, 201. 

seems (impersonal), 219. 
selle, 224. 
seneschal, 192. 
Seven Spears of Wedder- 

burne, 213. 
sewers, 223. 



shadow (of magician), 159. 

shalm, 222. 

sheeling, 186. 

sheen, 205. 

shriven, 217. 

Skelfhill-pen, 160. 

slashed, 216. 

slogan, 157, 208. 

smile (rhyme), 195, 212. 

Soltra, IQ5, 237. 

Solway Sands, 164. 

Solway strife, 225. 

some whit, 181. 

sooth (= truth), 147, 212. 

soothly, 170 

spectre-hound of Man, 232. 

sped, 180. 

spurn (= kick), 213, 225. 

stole (ecclesiastical), 218, 

234- 
strain (= race), 216. 
supplied (rhyme), 148. 
Surrey, Earl of, 227. 
swith, 206. 



tarn, 194. 

Tarras RIoss, 237. 

Thirlestane, 201. 

throstle, 235. 

tide (= time), 165, 220. 

ti7it (= lost), 180. 

tire(=: head-dress), 189. 

to (omitted). 161. 

toil (rhyme), 195. 

train (= entice), 1S7. 

'twixt (repeated), 216, 217. 



uneath, 234. 

Unicorn's (quadrisyllable), 

162. 
urchin (= elf), 215. 

vails (= avails), 212. 
Valkyrittr., 230. 
vassalage (concrete), 215. 
Velez' vine, 183. 
vi]de_, 188. 
Vikiugr, 230. 

Walter of Harden, 189, 202 

Warden-Raid, 198. 

Warkworth Castle, 152. 

warrison, 207. 

wassail, 214. 

Watt Tinlinn, 198. 

weapon-schaw, 208. 

well-a-day, 146. 

whenas, 211. 

whingers, 213. 

wight (= lively), 152, 165, 

208. 
wiidered, 188. 
wildering, 147. 
William of Deloraine, 162. 
wimple, 2i6. 
withal, 195. 
Woden, 230. 
Woodhouselie, 237. 
wraith, 217. 

Yarrow, 219. 
Yarrow-cleugh, 237. 
yerk, 19S. 
yew (for bows), 19S. 




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